


I need to know that it's possible to love you

by Nola_1



Category: Pitch Perfect (Movies)
Genre: Actor and artist trope, Enemies to Friends to Lovers, Eventual Smut, F/F, Fluff, Funny, Slow Burn, Strangers to Lovers, alternative universe
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-09-06
Updated: 2018-12-22
Packaged: 2019-07-07 20:20:32
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 16
Words: 34,797
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15915552
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Nola_1/pseuds/Nola_1
Summary: Oh dear...so I'm starting a new multi-chap despite not having finished my other one.The idea got in my head and i've mapped out 95% of this story so it'll probably be updated fairly regularly as long as life doesn't get in the way.Beca is an up and coming Producer/Musician. Chloe is an established actress. Their paths keep crossing, and Chloe takes an immediate dislike to Beca. Can our trusty B-Mitch win her round?(Spoiler alert: Eventually yes).Thanks for paying any attention.PS - Props to anyone who knows the song that the title came from.Love x





	1. Chapter 1

A bright and spacious condo in the Hollywood hills was being inhabited by its owner for a full two week period for the first time in a long while.

Chloe Beale was making the absolute most of it by not leaving her home – spending her days lounging around in her sweats, not putting any make up or uncomfortable heels on and spending long afternoons by her pool with friends that she had not had the opportunity to catch up with as a result of her hectic schedule.

Chloe was about to start the promotion tour of her new film, a(nother) re-boot of a superhero movie where she played the hero’s love interest. She knew the next few weeks would be chaotic, and then she was due to start pre-production on her next movie, so she was determined to take the opportunity of having a short break and using it to her fullest.

This Tuesday morning started much the same as the last week or so had. Chloe woke up after 9am, throwing on sweats and a vest top, tying her hair into a knot at the top of her head. She always went to her front door first to check for post, smiling as she spotted a padded envelope that she knew would contain her latest magazine cover lying on her doormat.

Grabbing the envelope, Chloe ambled to her kitchen, switching on her coffee maker as she sat at her breakfast island and opened the envelope containing the magazine.

Chloe had spoken to Elle USA about 3 weeks ago as part of a 10 year anniversary tribute to a cult TV show she had been involved in as a kid. As she pulled the magazine from its envelope, Chloe expected to see her own face staring back at her, and was therefore taken aback to be staring into the intense, smoky gaze of a brunette she vaguely recognised but couldn’t place.

“ _Beca Mitchell: Superstar in the making_ ,” the caption accompanying the cover star read in huge font, completely drowning out Chloe's own name in the corner of the page.

Chloe couldn’t help the indignant noise that escaped her mouth as she scanned the magazine quickly, noting Beca Mitchell’s four page, multi-pictured spread in contrast to her half page interview.

Without even reading any part of either interview, Chloe retrieved her cellphone from her pocket and dialled her most frequently called number, her publicist Stacie.

“Keep calm, Chlo,” Stacie’s calm voice floated through her earpiece after the first ring.

Chloe scoffed, slamming the magazine down on her kitchen island, “I’m a side piece to someone I’ve literally _never_ heard of!” Chloe knew she was being an asshole, but couldn’t bring herself to tone it down, “I thought this was a cover story?!”

Stacie’s sigh filled her ears, “I called Hannah at Elle. Apparently this Beca Mitchell is _blowing_   _up_ at the moment and they wanted the first cover for her so arranged a last minute interview and put together the spread on the fly, pushing us back.”

Chloe ran her hand through her hair, her eyes raising to the ceiling as she blinked back tears. As an actor, one of her biggest fears was the day she would cease to be relevant, and therefore employable, ending her career. Also, as an actor, she tended to have a flair for the dramatic, “This is the beginning of the end for me, right Stace?” her voice broke, “I’m going to have to join Dancing with the Stars and start taking on Chevy commercials,” she lamented, pouting as Stacie laughed over the phone at her.

“Get a grip, Beale,” Stacie’s voice was calm and gently ribbing. She complemented Chloe’s dramatics perfectly with her laid back attitude, “You clearly haven’t had your first coffee of the day and I refuse to discuss this with you until you do.”

Chloe sniffed, and Stacie could practically feel her puppy dog eyes over the line, “Who even is Beca Mitchell?”

“You really haven’t heard of her?” Stacie questioned curiously, “You must have heard her song, _Devil in the Detail_ , it’s everywhere right now!”

Chloe narrowed her eyes as she poured herself a steaming cup of freshly brewed coffee, “That’s an Emily Junk song, I love it,” she corrected Stacie. Chloe had met Emily a few times at various events; the younger girl was fairly new to the scene, bright and effervescent, reminding Chloe of herself when she first came to LA.

Stacie tutted on the other end of the line, “Mitchell’s a Producer as well as an artist. It’s her track – Emily just sings it.”

“Huh,” Chloe admitted defeat, “Well that’s annoying that I like her song, because I’ve decided I don’t like her.”

“Chloe!” Stacie laughed, “You don’t dislike anyone! Look, down that coffee in your hand, and maybe another, and I’ll be round later this afternoon to look at our itinerary for the next few weeks – starting with the MTV Movie Awards? Get your mind off up and coming popstars!”

Chloe hummed her confirmation, back to work already, “Sure thing Stace, I’ll see you later.”

Chloe hung up her cell and relaxed at her kitchen island with her coffee, glancing down at the magazine on and off where Beca Mitchell kept staring back at her with her smug – kind of secretly sexy – grin.

Chloe tried to convince herself that she didn’t want to read the article – she had no interest in Beca’s life or career...not at all. Those piercing eyes kept catching hers, though.

When Chloe’s resolve cracked, she picked up the magazine with a sigh, opening it to Beca’s first page and noting with a very reluctant admiration the whole page picture. Beca was sat in the driver’s seat of a classic convertible in a desert background; dark, shiny hair flying out behind her, black Wayfarers covering her eyes and a broad, teeth filled grin on her face. The fact that Chloe liked the picture only made her dislike Beca more.

“ _Introducing your new favorite musician..._ ” the article was titled. The arrogance was tooth rotting.

Chloe scanned the article; the interviewer calling Beca “ _a breath of fresh air_ ” for her candid and relaxed nature. Reading more in depth, Chloe felt her heart rattle as the interview delved a little deeper into Beca as a person.

_Mitchell, 24, is open about her sexuality and uncompromising about it –the video for her new single with Emily Junk features Mitchell and Junk playing tumultuous lovers on a wild weekend in Vegas._

_Mitchell is also an Ambassador of a number of LGBT charities and has a range of merchandise specifically designed to raise money for LGBT causes. I tell her_ _it’s clearly an issue close to her heart._

_“Yeah,” Beca becomes reticent for the first time in our interview, “I had a tough time of it as a kid when I came out. Anything I can do to help others – be that supporting charities or just showing people that you can be successful without compromising that part of yourself...I just know that would have meant a lot to me back then.”_

_This change in pace is intriguing – Beca has spent the whole of this interview relaxed, funny and, dare this interviewer say it, flirtatious. This sombre peek into her background and the incredible way she has made the best of her past issues to help others really make Beca Mitchell the most likeable, well rounded figure this interviewer has met in a long time._

Chloe rolled her eyes, loathed to read anymore. The interviewer clearly had the hots for Beca so it was totally biased. Beca Mitchell would probably end up being one of those flash in the pan artists who everyone raves about for a year, releases a lacklustre second album and everyone forgets who she is.

Chloe didn’t know what was rattling her so much about this girl; Stacie was right. She didn’t usually dislike anyone. She had built a career out of being America’s Sweetheart; regularly referred to as the Millennial Julia Roberts - and not just for her red hair and disarming smile.

Chloe was torn from her thoughts by a text from Stacie confirming her stylist Cynthia-Rose would also be coming this afternoon to help her find an outfit for the MTV Awards. It was exactly what she needed to shake herself out of her funk. Chloe just hoped she wasn’t going to bump into this Beca Mitchell any time soon.


	2. Chapter 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Meet cute...ish?

“For the love of god, Beca, stop fidgeting,” stern blue grey eyes regarded the younger girl sat across from her in the limo, “I don’t want you walking the carpet all creased up.”

Beca rolled her eyes at her Manager and (reluctant) best friend. She gripped her seat at either side of her thighs to stop herself messing with her outfit anymore, “Fine,” she huffed, “But Bree, please let me at least drink a bit more before we get there?”

Aubrey laughed, shooting her custom ‘exasperated but affectionate’ smile that she had honed for Beca over their years together, “You can have one more glass of Champagne before we get there, but that’s it. You know what the bubbles do to you.”

Beca pumped her fist, pouring both herself and Aubrey another (full) glass of Champagne, clinking their glasses together with a smirk as Aubrey shook her head, grinning, “Any publicity's good publicity, right? Maybe attending my first awards show drunk would be an interesting spin?”

The hum of disapproval from the blonde was instant, “You’ve made it really easy for me to represent you up to now...that was leading me into a false sense of security, wasn’t it?”

Beca’s responding laugh was loud and free, “You have _no_ idea!”

*

“Chloe! _Chloe_! Over here!”

The redhead gave a final grin and wave to the flashing cameras before walking over to the reporters lining the red carpet, stopping at a reporter she’d met many times before.

“Hi Matt, how are you?” Chloe greeted brightly, clearly disarming the man by remembering his name.

It took him a moment to recover, “Um...yeah, great, thank you for asking! You look amazing!”

Chloe nodded appreciatively, “Thank you.”

Her dress was strapless with a white corset top and long, flowing black skirt that touched the floor, with a very high slit on the left hand side revealing long, toned legs.

“You’re here to promote your new film with Tom Allen,” the interviewer began.

Chloe interrupted, “Sure...and to get drunk and catch up with friends,” she joked with a wink.

Truth be told, that was the biggest reason she was there. Chloe had not enjoyed working with Tom Allen over their 4 month period together earlier this year. She had breathed the biggest sigh of relief when filming had stopped and she knew she’d be able to have a break from his incessant, unreciprocated flirting. She wasn’t looking forward to being reunited with that tonight.

“Chloe!” the overenthusiastic yell and the sudden appearance of Emily Junk at her side ripped her from her thoughts with a broad smile.

Emily wrapped Chloe in a hug, the pair momentarily forgetting their audience, “Em, how have you been?”

“Busy!” Emily exclaimed as the girls separated, but enthusing that as if it was no trouble at all, “We need to catch up properly!”

The interviewer in front of the girls coughed and they suddenly remembered where they were, “So sorry to interrupt!” Emily apologised, but Chloe shook her head.

“Don’t be silly, come join me!” Chloe wrapped an arm round Emily’s waist and turned her attention back to the interview.

“I didn’t know you guys were friends?” the interviewer practically beamed.

Chloe gestured to Emily with her thumb, “Have you met this girl? It’s practically impossible to not want to be her best friend.”

Emily grasped Chloe’s free hand and held it with hers, “I met Chloe at the first showbiz party I ever went to and I was so scared and nervous and Chloe came up to me and introduced herself and just stuck with me all night even though she had loads of other people wanting to talk to her and it just meant the absolute world to me!”

Chloe looked bemused as Emily managed to speak so fast without taking a breath and not pass out.

“That’s an amazing story!” the interviewer knew he got an incredible soundbite there.

A commotion to the girls left drew their attention away from the interview again. The photographers were shouting at a newcomer.

Emily squealed as her eyes fell on who it was and Chloe’s eyes widened in horror – a look that she immediately schooled once she remembered she was currently being filmed.

Beca Mitchell stood on the red carpet in slim fit black dress pants and a black tux blazer, buttoned...with nothing underneath.

Chloe was staring. She knew she was. Beca had been on her mind a lot recently (for negative reasons, of course). Chloe had found herself googling Beca and watching and reading some of her interviews (she told herself it was because to get ahead of the enemy she needed to know all she could about her), but it was a completely different story seeing her in the flesh.

“BECA!” Emily screeched right in Chloe’s ear, and when the brunette followed the sound of the voice and spotted Emily, her broad grin totally disarmed Chloe.

Emily took off at an impressive speed on her towering heels and met Beca, who had started walking over to the girls, in the middle for a bruising hug.

Beca laughed good naturedly as she squeezed Emily back before holding her at arms length, “A worthy emotional reunion after not having seen each other for, what, 3 days?”

“Shut up,” Emily slapped Beca’s arm playfully before grabbing it and dragging her over to Chloe, “Have you guys met?” Emily asked as she stood between the pair, again this entire moment taking place in front of Matt the interviewer.

Beca narrowed her eyes thoughtfully but shook her head as she regarded Chloe – very thoroughly, “I don’t think so, but it’s really nice to meet you, I’ve seen a few of your movies,” Beca offered with a smile, extending her hand across Emily for Chloe to shake.

“That’s a _massive_ compliment!” Emily butted in, “Beca hates movies usually.”

Chloe realised she’d just been staring blankly at Beca, who raised her eyebrow as her outstretched hand remained neglected between them. Chloe quickly grasped it, ignoring how soft the other girl’s skin was or the slight squeeze Beca gave her hand, “It’s great to meet you, too,” Chloe lied, plastering on her biggest smile, “I love your guys’ song.”

“We all do!” the interviewer successfully drew the attention back to himself and Beca’s head whipped round – having had no idea he was even stood there.

“Thanks man,” she replied, “Couldn’t have done it without this tall drink of water,” Beca wrapped her now free from Chloe’s hand around Emily’s waist with a wink.

The interviewer pounced on this, “You guys both star in the video, too,” he began, to which Beca and Emily both nodded.

Chloe felt herself being pushed out of the interview and the haze that her first real introduction to Beca Mitchell had initially put her under was immediately replaced with annoyance again.

She tried to tear her head out of her frustration and continue to at least look interested as the interview continued between the two girls stood next to her, “You guys share a few steamy moments in that video – Emily, what did Benji think of that?”

Chloe winced – hating questions like this. Male actors never got asked if their girlfriends cared about them kissing beautiful women on a daily basis. Chloe watched carefully to see how Emily, whose bright smile had impressively not faltered, would respond. She was surprised when Beca got there first.

Beca scoffed at this, her forehead creasing, “What, you mean her Broadway actor boyfriend who’s job involves him kissing other people sometimes, too?”

Emily, having been in the game slightly longer than Beca by this point, placed a placating hand on the other girl’s arm and turned to Beca with a bright smile, “Well, Benji and I don’t call you Beca ‘ _steal yo girl_ ’ Mitchell at home for nothing,” she joked with a wink, completely melting Beca’s frustration so the older girl could only reluctantly smile back.

“I will make that a thing one day,” Beca promised, nudging her shoulder to Emily’s in thanks for diffusing her potential blowout.

Emily shook her head with a wry smile, “No, you won’t,” she smiled apologetically, “Shall we get inside ladies?” Emily gestured to both girls, knowing that Beca probably wouldn’t be able to take any more of this interviewer.

“Sure,” Beca flashed her most charming smile, moving between Emily and Chloe and pressing a hand to the small of each girl’s back, “Excuse us,” she gestured to the interviewer, “But I have the opportunity to walk in with the two most beautiful girls here, and that’s not an opportunity I’m about to pass up.”

Chloe had to act her ass off to not bristle (shiver?) under Beca’s touch, but she allowed herself to be guided into the venue, ignoring the heat the small hand against her back pressed into her skin or the fact that she appeared to be obsessing over trying to figure out what perfume Beca was wearing – she just needed to know what to avoid, of course.

Soon after they got into the venue Beca removed her hand from Chloe’s back with a weak smile in her direction, clearly still frustrated with what had just happened.

“What a jackass,” Beca grimaced, running a hand through her hair, her eyes trained on Emily, who pulled her into a side hug.

“Relax now Bec, it’s your first award show!”

Beca opened her mouth to respond but was cut off by her name being called in a less than positive tone.

“Oh god,” Beca’s eyes widened and her flit between Emily and Chloe, “Hide me, please!”

It was too late. Aubrey appeared as if out of nowhere at Beca’s side, her tone accusing, “Did you just chew out a reporter?”

“No?” Beca responded totally unconvincingly, slicing her hand across her throat to ask Chloe and Emily to not rat her out.

Aubrey sighed, hands on her hips, “I knew I shouldn’t have let you have that second glass of Champagne,” she berated herself, “Come on,” Beca allowed Aubrey to take her hand, “There’s someone who wants to meet you.”

Beca shot an apologetic smile at Emily and Chloe, “See you guys later...maybe. It was really nice to meet you, Chloe.”

Her tone was genuine and so Chloe couldn’t help her own responding smile. She still didn’t like the girl, though. Definitely not.

*

“Was that Chloe Beale?” Aubrey asked as she and Beca walked down a busy corridor.

Beca nodded, “Yeah. She and Em are friends, apparently.”

“I love her movies,” Aubrey gushed, “Maybe you can introduce me to her later?”

“She’s hot,” Beca confirmed quickly, “Kinda quiet, though.”

Aubrey brought the two of them to a stop outside a dressing room decorated with holographic stars, tearing Beca away from her Chloe thoughts.

“Who even are we meeting?” Beca asked, dubious as they stood in front of the door.

Aubrey gave the door a sharp knock and it was immediately opened by a very familiar face to Beca – the exuberant, infamous movie director and personality, Amy Hobart.

“Beca Mitchell!” Amy exclaimed, drawing the brunette forward into a hug, “Wow, you’re much smaller in person,” she drew back and held Beca’s upper arms, looking her up and down with complete scrutiny.

Beca, for her part, looked equal parts terrified and annoyed, breaking eye contact with Amy to turn and face Aubrey with a harsh whisper, “What is going on here?!”

Aubrey placed a hand against the small of Beca’s back and ushered her into the room, where Amy immediately thrust a shot of tequila into her hand with a flourish, “I have a proposition for you,” Amy began.

Beca stared down at the shot in her hand, sparing a thought to whether there might be anything else in it, “Um,” Beca started, glancing back up to Amy, “I’m very flattered...”

Amy baulked, “Cool your jets, short stack!” Beca pouted, “I’m not hitting on you!”

Beca whipped round upon hearing Aubrey's indignant sigh, “God Beca, she wants to talk to you about a movie...obviously.”

“Oohh,” Beca’s immediate response was relief and she finally allowed herself to sink back the shot she’d desperately wanted (but been completely suspicious of), before Aubrey’s words sank in, “Wait, what?”

Amy gestured for Beca and Aubrey to take a seat, “I know you’re a musician, not an actor, but I want you to hear me out on this,” she offered the girl another shot. Beca looked longingly at the inexplicable tray of shot glasses filled to the brim at the nearby table, but sensibly shook her head, “I can’t find anyone right for this part, which is what led me to start thinking outside the box.”

Beca turned to Aubrey, eyes pleading with her to get them out of this room and situation, “Just hear her out, Becs,” Aubrey cajoled in her very rare soft tone that she knew Beca always gave in to because soft Aubrey was so rare.

“Fine,” Beca’s tone was frustrated but she leant forward, pressing her forearms to her knees and waving a hand for Amy to continue, “Let’s hear it.”

*

The ceremony was about to start, an hour later, and Chloe hadn’t seen Beca again. Not that she had been looking for her or anything. She had just wanted to be aware of her movements so she could ensure to avoid her at all costs.

Ushers appeared in the bar area to start leading people to their seats and Chloe and Tom had been sat together in the second row – not bad.

Tom had been on top form so far, and Chloe was dreading the two of them having to present an award together later when Tom had been telling her for the last hour what great publicity it would be to pretend like they were actually getting together in real life. Chloe had had to bite her tongue to stop herself from telling him that she was a good actor, but she wasn’t sure she was _that_ good.

Tom’s arm slung around the back of Chloe’s chair as they got seated and Chloe was about to tell him what he could do with that arm when the ushers had returned to fill the front row, bringing with them none other than Beca Mitchell and the pretty, but kind of scary, blonde woman who had torn Beca away earlier in the evening.

“You have _got_ to be kidding me,” Chloe spoke under her breath as Beca was directed to the chair immediately in front of Chloe.

Beca thanked the Usher and then glanced up to meet Chloe’s eyes in the seat behind her own, smiling brightly, “Chloe, hi,” she greeted, laughing as the woman next to her nudged her shoulder gently, “Right” she rolled her eyes and tilted her neck in Aubrey’s direction, “Chloe – this is my Manager, and inexplicably also best friend, Aubrey Posen. Aubrey, Chloe Beale the movie star you were gushing over an hour ago.”

Chloe really tried not to smile at that, but it was hard. Beca was clearly very charming, and very cheeky.

Chloe stood from her seat so she could lean over and shake Aubrey’s hand, “It’s really nice to meet you.”

“It’s so great to meet you, too,” Aubrey sounded enthusiastic, which was not something Beca experienced very often and so she watched her friend with rapt bemusement, “I basically love anything you do.”

Beca snorted, “Ok bunny boiler, let’s let Chloe enjoy her evening without having to worry about whether you’re going to go all ‘Single White Female’ on her,” she quipped, laughing harder as Aubrey slapped her arm.

“No, I’m not – god, I’m sorry – Beca!” Aubrey whined, face immediately flushing.

Chloe waved a hand, smiling, “Aubrey, it’s fine – I can see that this one is hard work,” she nodded to Beca, who tilted her head thoughtfully at Chloe and narrowed her eyes playfully.

“Would you like to find out, Miss Beale?”

Chloe couldn’t believe it. Beca was flirting with her. Whilst she was sat next to her fake not boyfriend (who Chloe suddenly remembered she had completely forgotten to introduce, or that he was there at all).

Biting her lip, Chloe pretended to think for a moment before shaking her head, “Not really.”

Beca looked like she wanted to say something else, her eyes never leaving Chloe’s and the questioning gaze only intensifying.

However, Chloe was saved by an announcement over the tannoy system for everyone to take their seats for the show to begin.

“Enjoy your night, Chloe,” Beca ended their interaction with a warm smile, not waiting for a response from Chloe as she took her seat.

Chloe watched as Aubrey’s hushed dressing down of Beca turned quickly into laughter as Beca once again charmed her way out of trouble.

Chloe could see through the act though and was not going to affected in any way by Beca Mitchell.


	3. Chapter 3

“I’m so excited!” Emily hooked her arm through Beca’s, whose own hand was in the pocket of her skinny jeans. Emily’s car had just dropped them off in what felt like the middle of nowhere, but actually turned out to be a ridiculously ostentatious countryside mansion.

Beca hummed noncommittally, staring up at the impressive looking mansion as the pair stepped onto the red carpet. She wanted to ignore the cameras lining the entryway, but Emily brought them to a stop with a dazzling smile.

Stood on Beca’s left, Emily curled into the older girl with a practiced ease, her left hand grasping the opposing lapel of Beca’s white Balmain blazer. Beca sighed reluctantly before removing her hand from her pocket and slipping it around Emily’s waist, dutifully posing for the cameras – her signature glare. Someone had once told her it was smouldering, which was not at all what she had been going for – but if it worked, why mess with perfection?

“Thank you” Emily whispered, smiling as Beca turned to her with a look of surprise.

“I should be thanking you,” she spoke to Emily with the smallest of smiles, ignoring the flashes that continued around them, “I would have totally pussied out coming here if it wasn’t for you.”

Emily nodded to the cameras and grasped Beca’s hand, leading her into the building, “This is your first fashion party! And it’s Balmain! They absolutely _love_ you! You couldn’t have missed it.”

Beca had been invited to a party held by the fashion house to celebrate the opening of their LA store. She had initially refused to go, but when Emily had confirmed that she’d also been invited...and after Aubrey had straight up glared at her for 20 minutes, Beca had caved. She did love a Balmain suit, and she particularly loved the blazer she was sporting tonight alongside black, skinny ripped jeans, high heeled ankle boots and a low cut, very tight fitted black v neck that accentuated her toned stomach and impressive cleavage.

The mansion it was held in was insane. It was full or art – both in human and painting form. Everything about the decor was bright and over the top in the otherwise darkened rooms. There were see through floors and an indoor swimming pool bathed in pink lights that Beca was pretty certain no one would be getting in that night. The music was even not bad, which was saying a lot coming from Beca.

“What are we expected to do here, though?” Beca asked as Emily led her to the bar, unable to hide the anxiety that was written all over her face.

Emily shrugged, “Talk to people, drink and look good in their clothes for the cameras,” she explained as if it was as easy as breathing, which Beca supposed it was for her, the little social butterfly that she was, “You weren’t this anxious at the awards last week, what’s up?” Emily brought Beca to a stop at the bar.

“I know,” Beca ran the fingers of her right hand through her hair, “It’s just that kind of thing you know what’s expected of you – sit and watch, clap at the right intervals, go home. This is different. I don't know what I'm supposed to be doing. It makes me feel antsy,” she shivered as if to evidence her point.

Emily laughed, “Weirdo,” she smiled brightly at the bartender who immediately came over to them, “Let’s get you liquored up!”

“Ugh,” Beca rolled her eyes, feigning annoyance, “If you insist.”

*

Three drinks in and Beca had finally loosened up – she had even had a 10 minute conversation with Nicki Minaj about literally nothing, but when Nicki had politely excused herself and Emily had squealed at her and threw herself into Beca’s arms like a proper fangirl, Beca allowed herself a wide grin in response.

Beca had stumbled back, her arms wrapping around Emily to hold them steady and her back collided with another body. Beca let Emily go and spun round with an apology waiting on her tongue, smiling broadly as her eyes met crystal blue, a shade she’d been thinking a lot about recently.

“Chloe, hi,” Beca’s enthusiasm was evident, “I’m so sorry about that – we got a bit overexcited about meeting Nicki Minaj,” she grimaced apologetically.

Chloe remained silent, her face stoic and eyes not leaving Beca’s. Beca didn’t even realise Chloe was with someone until she heard him speak.

“Who wouldn't, eh?” the guy with Chloe joked.

Beca regarded him closely – he had boyish good looks, the kind of guy your mother would kill for you to bring home (Beca knew her mother sure would have) and he had his arm wound protectively around Chloe’s waist.

“Right,” Beca affirmed, distracted, “I’m Beca,” she introduced, extending her hand to the guy whilst Chloe got distracted greeting Emily.

The guy retrieved his arm from Chloe’s waist to take Beca’s in both of his, “I love your work,” he gushed, “Jesse Swanson.”

Beca was sure she had got a vibe from Chloe, but it seemed she was mistaken. If Chloe was straight, though, this was exactly the kind of guy she saw her with.

“Thanks dude. You guys having a good night?”

Chloe appeared back at Jesse’s side; Emily at Beca’s. Beca found Chloe not at all subtly watching her again as Jesse spoke, “I mean, I haven’t met any rappers yet so I feel you guys have set the bar pretty high, but yeah it’s good, right Chlo?”

Chloe realised Jesse was trying to get her to start talking, clearly concerned by the uncharacteristic state of catatonia she had reached. Forcing on a big smile, Chloe nodded to Beca, “I really love that jacket,” she complimented, eyes taking in Beca’s form, “I wish I could pull it off.”

Beca bit her lip – Chloe had handed that one to her on a silver platter, “Don’t speak too soon – the night’s still young – you may still get that opportunity,” she flirted, her eyebrows lifting as a smirk pulled at the corner of her mouth.

Beca caught Jesse clearing his throat and it tore her eyes from Chloe’s. Oops, she had upset the boyfriend. Chloe and Jesse shared a look and clearly some kind of silent dialogue that Beca couldn't translate.

“Hey, shall we go and grab some drinks?” Jesse directed to Chloe, who turned back to Beca and Emily with a forced smile. “Sure,” she confirmed, nodding to the two girls, “Excuse us.”

Beca watched Chloe go with narrowed, questioning eyes, broken out of her reverie as Emily laughed beside her, “Steal yo girl indeed...”

“Shut up,” Beca grumbled, nudging her shoulder to Emily’s.

*

A little while later, Beca found herself sat on a neon pink lit up cube out in the garden, beer in hand as she watched Emily dance amongst the fairy lit dancefloor with some guy she and Benji knew.

Beca was taking the opportunity to rest her aching feet – she hated wearing heels. Jesse and Chloe were on the dancefloor too and Beca was trying really hard not to stare. It was hard, though.

Chloe looked so pretty under the fairylights; the way they’d catch in her eyes whenever she was looking in Beca’s direction; the slope of her neck as she threw her head back laughing at something Jesse said and the look of contentment as she burrowed her face into his shoulder as the music and their moves slowed.

Once or twice Chloe’s eyes had met Beca’s, but the look in Chloe’s eyes had made Beca turn away quickly, even if she had no idea why.

A few songs, and Beca’s beer bottle emptied later, she watched as Chloe excused herself from Jesse with a kiss to the corner of his mouth before making a beeline to head back into the building.

Surprisingly - although not as surprising as the game of Beer Pong Beca had played with Chrissy Tiegen earlier in the evening - Jesse made his way over to Beca, perching on the end of her cube.

“Hey,” he greeted with a dazzling smile, “Great night, right?”

Beca’s eyes did a slow scan of the garden; the beautiful people and gorgeous surroundings, “Yeah it’s pretty awesome.”

Beca wasn’t sure why she’d taken an instant dislike to Jesse, but she had. She hoped her reluctance to engage in proper conversation with him would mean he’d take the hint.

He didn’t.

“So what do you like to do when you’re not making music?” Jesse asked, turning to Beca and drawing his knee up under himself.

Beca directed her eyes upwards, rolling her neck and turning to Jesse, trying to find some patience, “I mostly like sweatpants and staying at home,” she quipped with a hard glare.

Jesse’s eyes widened and he started to open his mouth to apologise, but before he could get any sound out Beca pushed a hand to his shoulder playfully, rolling her eyes, "That was supposed to be funny," she spelt out, raising her eyebrows and nodding.

Jesse instantly relaxed, letting out a soft laugh, "I  _knew_ you'd be funny!"

“What gave you that idea?” Beca squinted at him, confused. That confusion turned into mild rage as she watched Jesse look her up and down, appraisingly.

Jesse gave a general wave in Beca’s direction, “You’re like the cool girl in a movie – all moody and sarcastic but pretty underneath it all and then the right guy brings you out of your shell,” he nudged Beca’s shoulder with his own, clearly of the incorrect view that physical contact both ways was absolutely fine now.

“Wait, what now?!” Beca baulked, whipping her head round to regard Jesse with furious eyes, “What’s that supposed to mean?”

Jesse wiped his hands on his legs, totally oblivious to Beca’s disdain for his words, “Would you maybe like to get dinner with me sometime?” he asked, his eyes wide and hopeful.

Beca couldn’t believe it. Chloe had been gone all of three seconds. She rose to her feet, wanting to put some distance between herself and this creep, “What the fuck is wrong with you?!” she spat at Jesse, who physically recoiled.

“I...wow, um, just saying you’re not interested would have been fine,” he mumbled, head down like a kicked puppy.

Beca scoffed. What was wrong with this guy? “Of course I’m not interested – A) I’m super gay, and B) more importantly, I would never do that to another girl,” she was furious, arms flailing, and Jesse was suddenly very confused.

“What is going on?” Jesse asked, standing, his hands out in front of him in surrender, “Why are you so angry?”

Beca shook her head, “Listen, dude, I think you just need to back off before I kick your ass, you son of a – ”

Beca was cut off by a hand on her arm and she whipped round to be met with Chloe’s horrified gaze, “What the hell is happening here?” Chloe asked, searching Beca’s stormy gaze and looking past her to see Jesse looking shell shocked.

Beca’s gaze softened, “I’m sorry, Chloe” she turned to Chloe, waving her arm, “You should speak to your boyfriend,” she narrowed her eyes at Jesse, spitting venom at him.

Beca was not at all expecting Jesse’s response to be for his eyes to widen in understanding...and then for him to laugh.

“My...what?” Chloe’s grip on Beca’s arm loosened, and Beca turned back to Chloe, having no idea what the fuck was going on.

“Beca,” Chloe’s tone was soft and warm towards Beca (for the first time ever), “Jesse and I are just friends, we’re not dating. What’s going on?” Chloe tilted her head as she continued to regard Beca closely, whose own eyes had widened in horror.

Jesse stepped around Beca to Chloe’s side as Beca’s eyes dropped to her feet, her cheeks flushing, “I asked her out and she got super defensive of you ‘cos she thought you and I were together,” Jesse clarified with a sympathetic smile to Chloe, “It’s kinda sweet actually...but, also terrifying.”

“Shit,” Beca whispered, running her right hand through her hair before finally getting the courage to lift her head and grimace apologetically at the pair, “I’m really sorry,” she directed to Jesse, who simply shrugged, “And I’m sorry for making any assumptions. That’s really not cool.”

Beca chanced a glance at Chloe who was still looking at her strangely, “I suppose it is kind of sweet,” Chloe spoke, her mouth curling up into a smile. Beca noted that it looked like it was painful for Chloe to have said that. She took it, though.

“Yeah, well, you’d realise I’m not actually that bad if you took the chance to get to know me,” Beca called Chloe out on her behaviour towards her up to this point with a small smile, “An idiot," she admitted, "but still not bad.”

Chloe rolled her lips thoughtfully, sharing a look with Beca that the brunette found so intense she struggled to not turn away, “I’ll think about it,” Chloe teased, turning to Jesse, “You wanna go get some ice for your ego?”

Beca rolled her eyes as Jesse laughed, pressing a hand to his chest, “Please,” he confirmed, turning to Beca and holding out his right hand, “Friends?”

“Friends,” Beca confirmed, grasping Jesse’s hand firmly, “I’m so sorry again.”

Chloe wrapped an arm around Jesse’s waist as the pair started to make their way back inside, “You can pay me back with a drink sometime," Jesse called over his shoulder.

“Absolutely,” Beca confirmed, sharing one last smile with Chloe (a smile!) that warmed every inch of her before the two of them disappeared back into the house.

Beca shook her head as the pair walked away, "Fuck," she murmured to herself, turning to the dancefloor just in time to see Emily skipping over.

"You can't leave me alone anymore."

Emily' face, red from exertion with strands of hair stuck to her face where she'd been dancing, fell, "What did you do?!"


	4. Chapter 4

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> I really love this story. 
> 
> Thanks to everyone who's encouraged it.xxx

“Beca?” Aubrey opened the front door to her apartment an inch and called through, her own key to Beca’s apartment in the lock, “I’m coming in because I’ve been knocking for like 5 minutes,” she warned, letting the door click shut gently behind her. It may have seemed overly cautious, but there had been one or two occasions that both girls had tried desperately to forget where Aubrey had walked in on something she really  _really_ wished she hadn't.

As she stepped into the hallway, Aubrey heard the muted sounds of Beca’s keyboard which confirmed her suspicion that Beca wouldn’t have heard her if she had stood there knocking all day.

Aubrey rapped a short knock on the closed door of Beca’s music room, grinning as she heard a bum note ring out, “Just letting you know I’m here,” she called through the door, “Take your time.”

Aubrey made her way into Beca’s open plan living room/kitchen, rolling her eyes as she noted the half empty pizza box on her driftwood coffee table. No matter how much Aubrey tried desperately to drag Beca into adulthood, the younger girl continued to live like a college student. The one grown up device she had in her kitchen being a state of the art coffee machine – something even Aubrey agreed was completely valuable and necessary to keep Beca as close to human and palatable to other people as possible.

Aubrey flicked the machine on and listened to it start to bubble. It had a Pavlovian response. The door to Beca’s music room opened and she padded down the hallway, appearing in the doorway of the living room with a sleepy smile.

Aubrey could tell she'd been up all night. Her hair was tied up in a messy ponytail – her face clean and make up free. She was wearing sweats and a t-shirt one size too small, showing a sliver of skin between the end of the shirt and where her sweats started low on her hips.

“New song?” Aubrey asked, raising an eyebrow at Beca’s dishevelled appearance. This was standard productive Beca. She got so lost in what she was doing that she neglected everything else. Aubrey’s maternal instinct always came out full force during these times.

Beca nodded sluggishly, “Come and sit,” Aubrey ushered Beca over to the breakfast bar at her kitchen and pressed her into a stool, “When did you last eat?”

Beca’s eyes glanced over to the pizza on her coffee table and Aubrey rolled her eyes, “Real food – like with vegetables?”

Beca smirked slightly, “Hey – it has peppers and mushrooms on it!” she defended, laughing as Aubrey’s glare withered her.

Beca knew she was fighting a losing battle and that Aubrey was about to make her some delicious but healthy meal that she would somehow manage to magic out of the crappy ingredients Beca held in her kitchen and she would be (inwardly) grateful as always that she had Aubrey to look out for her.

Ever since her parents...well, Aubrey had been her family.

Sure enough, Aubrey started busying herself in Beca’s fridge, tutting and sighing at the fact thay the only thing in there was half a tub of cream cheese frosting, a six pack of beers, one bell pepper and half a red onion in her lacklustre vegetable drawer. She checked Beca's cupboards and found some eggs and set to work.

“Have you had a look at what I sent over from Amy?” Aubrey asked as she set to work dicing up the vegetables she’d found.

“Ugh,” Beca groaned her confirmation, “Yes. Have you?! Bree, it looks queer as balls,” she complained, “It’s like some cheesy chick flick.”

Aubrey laughed, turning to Beca momentarily, “You have such a skill with words when you’re writing music, and then you say something like ‘queer as balls’ and it reminds me that you’re a total idiot.”

Beca narrowed her eyes, “Rude,” she deadpanned, “But seriously, Bree. This movie. I just don’t get it at all. It couldn’t be further from me if I tried. Do I have to do it?” She threw in a pout for effect, hamming it up completely.

“You don’t have to do anything, Beca,” Aubrey responded immediately, “Just promise me you’ll have the read through and meeting with Amy once you’re back from London and if after that you’re still really not up for it we’ll leave it there, ok?”

Beca made a small noise of complaint, but nodded nonetheless, “Yeah, ok.” Another annoying trait Aubrey had - making Beca trust her with anything. It was incredibly annoying.

“Atta girl,” Aubrey praised, preparing herself for Beca moaning about being spoken to like a child when her phone started buzzing in her pocket.

Whoever was calling was not saved on her phone so she answered with a professional, “Aubrey Posen?...Right, of course...yeah, I’m with her now, one sec,” Aubrey held out her phone to Beca, whose eyes narrowed questioningly.

Aubrey placed her hand over the speaker and whispered “Jesse.”

Beca nodded and rolled her eyes, accepting the phone, “How did you track me down, Swanson?”

Jesse laughed over the line, “You’re one to talk – thank you for the tickets.”

As a peace offering for almost beating the shit out of him, Beca had got Aubrey to sleuth out exactly who Jesse Swanson was (a Music Director for movies) and bought him tickets to one of the outdoor cinema screenings at the Hollywood Forever Cemetery, something Beca had no doubt he’d be interested in from their very short interaction.

“It’s the least I could do,” Beca admitted, “I’m so sorry again.”

“It’s honestly fine,” Jesse reassured, “Actually, I was calling to see if you’d want to join me? As friends, of course,” he confirmed.

Beca couldn’t stop the noise of disinterest that left her mouth, “I mean I hate movies, but I guess it is Scream and Neve Campbell is hot, so why not?”

“Awesome,” Jesse sounded genuinely delighted and Beca felt bad that he clearly had no idea what he was in for with her less than enthusiastic company, “I’ll see you on Friday then?”

“Sure thing, I’ll text you so you have my number," Beca confirmed, laughing when Jesse pleaded with her not to blow him off, "See you then.”

Aubrey nodded approvingly from the stove as Beca hung up the phone, “Making friends with influential people, good work.”

Beca scoffed, “Not everything is work, Aubrey.”

“Sorry Beca, I just find it hard to believe you’re actually able to make friends,” she quipped as she slid a plate full of omelette across the kitchen island to Beca.

"You're a jerk," Beca complained, accepting the cutlery offered to her by Aubrey, grasping her wrist and pressing a quick kiss to her knuckles, "And thank you."

*

“You’re probably the first person I’ve ever met who doesn’t like movies,” Jesse informed Beca as he laid out a picnic blanket he’d brought along to the outdoor cinema, ushering Beca to sit.

It wasn’t the first time she’d heard that, “You’d think people thought I was admitting to being a serial killer or a psychopath they way they say it!” Beca defended, “Some people don’t like puppies...or alcohol. Those are the real monsters!”

Jesse laughed as he sunk down onto the blanket next to Beca, reaching over to pop the cooler he’d brought with him and hand Beca a bottle of beer, which she accepted with a grateful nod, “You’re right, I apologise. It’s just weird to me – like I’m sure it would be to you if someone said they didn’t like music.”

“That’s fair,” Beca nodded, taking a long pull of her beer, “I should have known you worked in movies when you tried that whack chat up line on me,” she mock scalded, raising a disapproving eyebrow in his direction as she took another sip.

Jesse’s cheeks immediately reddened, “Listen, I know I was a jerk. I’m kind of terrible at talking to pretty girls,” he paused, rolling his eyes as Beca pressed a hand to her chest in sarcastic disbelief, “So I’m really sorry. You probably deserved to chew me out for that alone.”

“It’s all good, dude,” Beca reassured with a wave of her hand, “Let’s call it quits and start again from tonight. Bros?” she offered her bottle towards Jesse, who clinked it with his own.

“Lesbros?” Jesse tried out, quirking an eyebrow.

Beca’s face immediately crumpled, “No,” she was vehement, “That’s not a thing that’s happening. Although you probably use my help picking up girls.”

“Oh yeah?” Jesse looked interested, “Are you seeing anyone at the moment?”

Beca looked down into her lap, peeling at the label on her beer, “Not yet...”

“Sounds like there’s a story there?” he nudged his head closer, pressing.

Beca shrugged, “I dunno. Never know what’s round the corner right?”

Jesse nodded thoughtfully, turning briefly to watch the trailers play out on the massive screen before them, “You never do,” he confirmed, “Like I didn’t know I was gonna become best friends with the Beca Mitchell,” he quipped, wiggling his eyebrows as Beca grinned reluctantly.

“I mean, my _actual_ best friend will rip your eyes right out if she hears you say that,” she warned, smiling as Jesse brushed that off.

“Aubrey? I could take her.”

Beca shook her head, “Dude, no. The first time I met Aubrey, in college, she was a Sophomore and I was a Freshman. I was at a party and this dude would not take no for an answer,” Jesse grimaced and Beca, surprisingly, grinned, “Aubrey broke his nose.”

His sympathetic gaze softened into one of shock, a little terror, and awe, “Wow. I mean that’s amazing. So that’s how you two became friends?”

Beca tilted her head from side to side, “No at that point she was just this stranger knight in shining armor who blew in out of nowhere and then straight back out again just as fast,” Beca reminisced with a smile, “I didn’t see her again for a month and during that time I’d convinced myself I was in love with her,” Beca admitted with a laugh, shaking her head, “Then I met her again when I auditioned for this...” she sighed, looking around her before lowering her voice, “A capella group,” she harsh whispered, which caused Jesse to jerk back, “Tell anyone that and I’ll kill you,” her tone changed briefly to one of warning, “Anyway, Aubrey was in the group – Captain of it the next year. I was in the group and Captained it during my Senior year. I realised Aubrey was an insane battleaxe so the romantic feelings died almost immediately, but she is the most fierce and loyal friend I’ve ever had. I don’t honestly know what I’d do without her.”

“That’s a great story,” Jesse spoke warmly, his eyes disappearing into his hairline as he tried to search his thoughts, “I met Chloe because I crashed into her at a party and poured her cocktail all over her dress.”

Beca laughed, a little forced, the thought of Chloe making her feel strange, “That’s also a great story. If someone can still like you after that...” she trailed off with a grin.

“Huh,” realisation dawned on Jesse, “I always seem to make an awful first impression on women – maybe I _do_ need your help?”

Beca nodded knowingly. She bit her lip thoughtfully, wondering whether to raise the thought in her head with Jesse. Fuck it, “I feel like Chloe does _not_ like me,” she admitted to Jesse, who looked totally taken aback.

“What on earth would make you think that?!” he asked, eyebrows furrowed at Beca, who suddenly thought it was a terrible idea to be having this conversation. Beca wasn’t one of those girls. Those girls who talked about other girls behind their backs.

She shook her head, “Nothing, forget it.”

Jesse curled his lips thoughtfully, “She literally didn’t stop talking about you after the Balmain party the other night, I thought you guys must have been good friends!”

Beca blanched, “She...what??”

“Yeah,” Jesse reclined back on his arm, nodding to the screen as it became apparent the film was about to start, “How she loved your music and the way you dress and some other stuff I zoned out of...” he was clearly becoming less interested in this conversation as it became clear the film was starting, “Oooo!” he exclaimed quickly, “Let’s take our first ever selfie before it starts.”

Beca was still reeling from that information. Chloe behaved around her like she couldn't get away fast enough, but elsewhere she was interested enough to chew Jesse's ear off about her. Bizarre. 

Beca sighed as Jesse retrieved his phone from his pocket, “Fine,” she relented when presented with his hopeful face, “But don’t expect me to smile.”

Jesse grinned, “Wouldn’t dream of it.”

*

Chloe was so bored.

She’d been sat for the best part of the afternoon/early evening in a hotel room with Tom on a press junket for their film.

Tom was a terrible interview partner. Chloe could have been Marie Curie and still not have been able to muster up an ounce of chemistry between them.

During a break between reporters, Chloe pulled her phone from her handbag and, on autopilot, opened up Instagram for a quick scroll. Usual stuff...pretty people, enviable food, Jesse and Beca hanging out...wait, what?!

Chloe studied the (series) of pictures. She could tell they were at the outdoor cinema at the Hollywood Forever Cemetery. The first picture was the two of them sat on a picnic blanket against a backdrop of a beautiful LA sunset. Jesse was beaming into the camera and Beca had an eyebrow raised and a stoic impression on her face. Chloe greedily scrolled to the next picture, where Jesse was clearly saying something to Beca which meant the two were turned in facing each other. In the third picture, Beca was finally smiling – still facing Jesse so Chloe could make out the crease in the corner of her eye from where she was grinning so widely. Jesse’s caption read, _‘Finally pulled a smile out of my new bestie, @BecaMitch #platonicdate’_

Something white hot settled in Chloe’s gut and she immediately locked her phone, throwing it back into her bag.

Taking in a long breath, Chloe allowed herself to admit, if only in her head, that she wasn’t sure who she felt more jealous of.


	5. Chapter 5

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Here we go...
> 
> Song is by CamelPhat and Au/Ra - Panic Room - if you haven't listened to it before, get to it now!

“Bristol, you and your city have been absolutely beautiful,” Beca spoke breathlessly to the audience as her set came to an end, “Thank you so much for having me. Until next time,” Beca beamed at the screaming crowd before turning and applauding her touring band.

She gave one final wave to the crowd before skipping off the stage and gratefully accepting a towel from someone who was a blur to her in the adrenaline fuelled excitement that always followed playing a live show.

It was the penultimate show of Beca’s first, and relatively short, tour of the UK. The mid size venue tour had completely sold out, much to Beca’s surprise. It blew her mind that people in her _own_ country knew who she was, let alone her music having crossed continents.

Beca paused in the hallway of the venue to chat with her touring band – her drummer Cameron, guitarist Florence and bass player Jack.

She span on her heels, her towel wrapped around her neck, as Aubrey appeared at the door of her dressing room down the hall, tablet in hand that she was tapping at furiously.

“Guys,” Aubrey directed to the full band, crossing the hallway to stand before them, “Change of plans for tonight – we’re heading straight to London _now_.”

Beca quirked her head, “What happened to staying here tonight?” she asked, taking a sip from the bottle of water Cameron handed her with a grateful smile, “Also, thanks Aubs, it was a great show, we kicked ass,” she mock scalded, poking her tongue out at the blonde as the band laughed behind her.

“I think the screaming girls are enough of an ego boost for you, Mitchell, without me adding to it,” Aubrey deadpanned, eyes trained on her tablet for a few more long moments before she looked up into four pairs of expectant eyes, “I managed to get you a performance slot on a talk show...that’s filming tomorrow, so we need to get you to London tonight.”

Beca heard a whoop from behind her and a gentle shove to the back of her shoulder, but her eyes were trained on Aubrey, “Uh...right, ok. That’s kind of insane, but ok,” Beca sounded more nervous than excited.

Aubrey could read Beca like a book. She did not like feeling unprepared, “It’s a great opportunity, Becs. You’re going to be billed as a surprise guest – the producers are really excited about it,” Aubrey enthused, “We’ll go to London tonight, you’ll get some rest, film the performance tomorrow, get another decent night sleep then play your Brixton show on Friday night before we fly back on Saturday. I’ve also actored in sightseeing time.”

It all sounded like a bit of a blur, but Beca nodded thoughtfully, “Ok sick. I’ll just pop out for a bit then we’ll get going.”

“Beca,” Aubrey’s tone, and gaze, were full of warning, “It’s already late, we need to get going now.”

Beca knew when the time was right to argue with Aubrey, and when it wasn’t. This was one of the times when it was, “Bree,” she began, smiling, “If you keep being as good at your job as you are right now, I’m gonna be like, super successful in a matter of weeks. If that happens I might not be able to do these kind of gigs anymore where I can go out and meet fans and speak to them after. So, until that day comes, it’s really important I do this, ok?”

Aubrey’s face softened and she rolled her eyes, “Half an hour, max. Ok?”

“Half an hour,” Beca grinned, slapping Aubrey’s ass playfully as she skipped past her to her dressing room to freshen up, “Then London baby!” Aubrey heard Beca shout from inside the room.

She represented an idiot.

*

“We’re back with Chloe Beale!” the exuberant, Irish presenter, Graham Norton, announced as the talk show started up again, to an enthusiastic response from the audience.

Chloe beamed from her seat on the red sofa across from the presenter, finally feeling relaxed on this press tour as Tom had been unable to make it out to the UK with her due to other commitments. It actually gave her the chance to enjoy getting out and about and speaking to people without constantly feeling awkward and uncomfortable.

She had been on the Graham Norton Show a couple of times before and always enjoyed his sense of humour, as long as he wasn’t playing some ridiculous prank that she was expected to get involved in.

“Now Chloe,” Graham began once the audience calmed down, “We’ve already talked a lot about your new movie, but I wanted to talk to you about your other loves. You’re a bit of a triple threat, I hear?”

Chloe narrowed her eyes, “I mean I’m not going to turn down that compliment, but how so?” she queried, noting the presenters sly smil. She realised she was about to probably feel ridiculously embarrassed.

Graham laughed lightly, turning to the large computer screen on the desk next to where he sat, “My Researchers found a very interesting video of you on your good friend Jesse Swanson’s Instagram from a few months ago...” he explained, turning to Chloe with a massive grin as she groaned and ducked her head, suddenly understanding.

“ _Why_ is his profile public?!” Chloe lamented playfully, lifting her head and fixing Graham with a wry grin.

Graham smiled sympathetically, turning back to his screen, “Well I’m eternally grateful that he has. Do you want to explain to the audience before we play it?”

Chloe shook her head, smiling shyly, “It is, quite simply, me singing Gangsters Paradise at a karaoke bar after...maybe one too many gins.”

Graham played the video and laughed as Chloe squirmed in her seat, watching drunk Chloe release her inner rapper on screen, hand gestures and all, “God, it gets worse the more you watch it,” Chloe quipped with a smile as it ended, “Thanks for that,” she scalded, her blue eyes glistening playfully.

“Well, the reason I played that Chloe, was that we had a bit of an emergency situation at the show this week,” Graham expounded, face turning sombre.

Chloe leant forward, forearms pressing to her thighs, “What happened?”

Graham sighed, “The artist who was supposed to be performing on the show tonight had to pull out last minute – visa issues. We’re not even mentioning their name anymore,” he shuddered overdramatically, and Chloe laughed, “So, we’ve been desperately trying to find someone else amazing to sing for us tonight instead and after that...” Graham waved over to the screen where a still of drunk Chloe gripping a microphone in her right hand, her left flailing up by her head on the other side still taunted her.

Chloe burst into laughter as realisation hit her, “I hope to God that you’re joking!” her voice held an edge of trepidation.

Graham held her gaze for a moment, his face serious, before breaking with a grin, “I am joking!” he grinned as Chloe deflated, relieved, “We are extremely fortunate to have an absolute superstar in the making come to our rescue tonight,” Graham stood, ready to announce the musical guest, “Ladies and Gentlemen, fresh from her first UK tour, with a brand new, never before played song, please give a warm welcome to Beca Mitchell!”

The crowd went insane, but everything sounded muffled to Chloe as the shock set in. The musical guest for the evening had been kept so secret that even she had no idea who was performing. She hadn’t even known that Beca was in the UK the same time as her. It was absolutely insane that they kept bumping into each other like this.

Chloe came back to herself just in time to clap politely and turn in her seat to the direction of the stage that Beca had just walked onto, standing behind a complicated looking table full of turntables, switches, buttons and dials and a keyboard set up to her left. An almost all female (bar the bassist) band had already been waiting on the stage for her, but Chloe couldn’t really any of them.

Beca’s hair was pinned back to her head on the left side, exposing a heavily pierced ear, the other side flowing in waves down her face. Beca was wearing a fitted white crew neck tee with a chain necklace tucked into a tight fitting black leather look skirt.

The track opened with the drummer tapping out a pacy beat and Beca’s hands skimming the board in front of her, adding a calm dance beat as she pressed her lips to the microphone set up at her desk;

_“Hell raising, hair raising,_

_I’m ready for the worst,”_

Beca’s eyes slid shut as she sang and Chloe all but melted. She’d heard Beca’s voice recorded, but hearing it live was something else. It was rich and haunting and pulled at something inside her.

_“So frightening, face whitening,_

_Fear that you can’t reverse,”_

Beca’s hands continued to move slowly against the dials as she sang, the tune complementing the choppy beat.

_“My phone has no signal it’s making my skin crawl,_

_The silence is so loud,”_

Beca’s eyes opened and she took in the room she was in for the first time – the audience ahead of her, the presenter and – holy shit – Chloe Beale on her right. Of course.

Beca had no idea how she didn’t mess up, but she promised herself she wouldn’t look at Chloe – who appeared to be staring at her – for the rest of her performance.

_“The lights spark and flicker with monsters much bigger_

_Than I can control now,”_

Beca nodded down at her table as she played before lifting her mouth to the microphone again, the tune remaining the same as she began the chorus.

_“Welcome to the Panic Room,_

_Where all your darkest fears are gonna come for you,_

_Come for you._

_Welcome to the Panic Room,_

_You’ll know I wasn’t joking when you see them too,_

_See them too._

_Welcome to the Panic Room.”_

Beca broke off with a flourish, the calm but itchy tune of the verse and pre verse being replaced by a deep dance beat, buzzy vibrating beats and ethereal keys, all being produced by Beca’s hands, that Chloe could not keep her eyes off.

Until she glanced up to see Beca’s upper body moving to her own beat, her head down, bottom lip pulled between her teeth in concentration. The music she was making filled the room and sent vibrations through Chloe's blood. She had no idea how she was stopping herself from dancing right now.

Chloe genuinely wondered if she would ever be able to recover from witnessing this. It was without a doubt the coolest, sexiest and most haunting dance song Chloe had ever heard and made everything she thought she knew about Beca scramble in her head.

Time seemed to stand still and speed up all at once and Chloe wasshocked out of her mini breakdown by the song ending and the audience erupting in cheers and applause.

“Beca Mitchell, ladies and gentlemen!” Graham applauded, smiling at Beca who nodded appreciatively with a grin, “Come over here, Beca!” he urged, crossing the stage to meet the brunette halfway for a cheek kiss, before ushering her over to the sofa...and Chloe.

“Hi Chloe Beale,” Beca greeted overconfidently as she sank down next to the redhead, keeping a safe distance from her.

Chloe, for her part, still felt traumatised...in a good way, “That was literally amazing,” was the only thing she could say, which brought a beaming smile from Beca.

“Thanks,” Beca was suspiciously grateful, narrowing her eyes at Chloe. Why was she being weird?

Graham wiggled his index finger between the two girls, “Do you two know each other?” he asked, clapping his hands together.

Beca shrugged, “We’ve met a couple of times," she informed, dropping the question there.

“Well Chloe’s right, that was absolutely incredible. That was a brand new song?” he asked in disbelief.

Beca smiled bashfully, “Thank you so much,” she ducked her head briefly to try and hide the blush, “Yeah, I actually wrote it last week,” she laughed softly, “When inspiration hits, you know?”

Chloe was sat on Beca’s right. She couldn’t help but notice Beca’s right hand pressed palm down on the sofa between them. Her own left hand was itching to reach out and touch. She had to close her eyes briefly and centre herself to stop anything stupid from happening.

“You can come here when the inspiration hits anytime, and we can’t thank you enough for stepping in last minute. You’re absolutely incredible and I have no doubt we’ll be seeing a lot more of you in the future,” Graham gushed, before wrapping up, “That’s all we have time for this evening,” he grinned to his audience, “Thanks to Chloe Beale and Beca Mitchell!”

*

Chloe walked off the stage on unsteady legs, not giving Beca a backwards glance. She needed some room to breathe.

It seemed Beca didn’t get that memo, though.

“Chloe, wait!” the younger girl called, following Chloe backstage – able to move easier in her heeled ankle boots than Chloe was able to on her stiletto heels.

Beca grasped Chloe’s bare upper arm from behind to stop her moving and Chloe whipped round, eyes wild and startled, “Um, hi?” Beca greeted, confused and concerned.

Chloe’s gaze fell to Beca’s (understandably) super confused face; her warm hand, the hand that had so expertly made such exquisite music still holding Chloe’s arm, her thumb brushing back and forth against her bicep soothingly, as if she might bolt at any second.

“Hey,” Chloe responded dumbly. She felt as though the real her was locked in her own head and screaming to get out, but Beca’s proximity and the last ten minutes had turned her world upside down.

Beca sighed, dropping Chloe’s arm and instead running that hand through her hair, “Look...can we, I dunno, go for a drink or something?” she asked, searching Chloe’s eyes questioningly.

That snapped Chloe out of her daze and she sucked in a breath, her eyes focusing on Beca, “You mean now?” she responded, her eyes darting around as if waiting for someone to come and steal her away.

Beca followed Chloe’s gaze with confusion, “I mean, not right this very second,” Beca responded, shaking her head, frustrated, “Where are you staying?”

Chloe bit her bottom lip, meeting Beca’s eyes, “Umm, the Corinthia, in Westminster,” Chloe confirmed, face screwing up in confusion as Beca started laughing, “What?”

“I’m staying there, too,” Beca shook her head in disbelief, “Soo...?” she asked, hopefully.

Chloe sighed, melting under Beca’s hopeful gaze, “I’m in room 342. Come pick me up at 7? We can go to the hotel bar?”

Beca lifted her wrist, noting the time was just before 5, “7pm at 342. Great, that’s...great,” Beca sounded so relieved and pleased that it tugged at Chloe’s heart and all of the frustration she was harbouring towards Beca suddenly felt cruel and unfounded.

“Ok,” Chloe nodded with a small smile, “See you soon, then?”

Beca nodded with a small smile, “I can't wait."


	6. Chapter 6

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Dun dun dun...

Chloe stood in front of the full length mirror between her hotel room’s wardrobe and desk, appraising herself anxiously.

She had come back, freshened herself up and changed into a more casual ensemble of white skinny jeans and a light mint green crew neck sweater. She had got changed twice already – not that she would ever admit that to anyone.

Beca was due in about 5 minutes and Chloe’s anxiety was through the roof. She had been difficult to Beca, she knew she had. She was also pretty sure that the way she had been treating Beca was completely unwarranted, and tonight she was potentially going to have to answer to that.

As if that wasn’t enough, Chloe was also having to deal with the ever present feeling of things she knew she shouldn’t be feeling about the young singer, and this was going to be the first time they spent any time alone together. With booze. Chloe was screwed.

A gentle knock at the door brought Chloe out of her musings and her heart thudded in her chest. Now or never.

Chloe sucked in a breath and pulled the door open, plastering the biggest smile that she could on her face, intending to open with a bright and breezy “hey,” but her brain had other ideas and she remained catatonic, taking in the girl before her.

Beca stood at the doorway, hands in her back pockets, looking almost timid. She was wearing a simple black t-shirt and ripped grey jeans. She had put on more make up than she had been wearing for the show earlier, her grey/blue eyes highlighted by black eyeliner.

Beca seemed to be expecting silence from Chloe, “Hey,” she greeted warmly, her gaze travelling up from Chloe’s feet where they had been trained, to meet her eyes, “You look great,” she complimented, then almost flinched as though awaiting some biting retort from Chloe.

“Thank you,” Chloe’s genuine, surprised response shocked Beca, “You look nice, too.”

Beca nodded gratefully, her smile coming a little more genuinely, “You ready to go? I know I’m a bit early – I can wait out here if – ” She sounded anxious, and Chloe was glad to hear she wasn't the only one.

“Beca,” Chloe smiled reassuringly, “I’m ready – let me just grab my purse,” she confirmed, disappearing into the room before appearing again with a small bag slung over her shoulder, smiling shyly as Beca stepped to the side to allow her to leave the room, pulling the door shut behind her with a click.

There was an awkward moment where the two girls just stood in the hallway looking at each other, before Beca laughed shyly and extended her arm, “After you,” chivalry wasn’t dead after all.

Beca fell into step with Chloe quickly, waiting to see if Chloe would start up any kind of conversation. She was still waiting by the time they got to the elevator.

As the doors opened, Beca felt a panic at the thought of being confined in such a small space with Chloe with this stifling tension between them. Chloe stepped easily into the elevator and turned, raising an eyebrow in question as Beca remained stood in the hallway.

“Is everything ok?” Chloe asked, trying to decipher the strange look on Beca’s face.

Beca rolled her lips, sucking in a breath and stepping onto the elevator, “Yeah, sorry,” she flashed Chloe an awkward grin as she came to stand next to her.

The ride down to the ground floor was excruciating and Beca thanked her lucky stars that she was only seconds away from alcohol. Why had she thought this was a good idea? Why was she trying to force any sort of connection with this rude girl.

The hotel’s bar specialised in cocktails. The actual bar stood in the centre of the room, flanked by two ivory pillars that rose up into the high ceiling. Bar stools wrapped all the way round the bar, with other smaller tables scattered around the room. A chandelier in the centre of the room provided the dim lighting to the otherwise luxurious, and thankfully quiet, bar.

“The drinks here look amazing,” Beca was startled as Chloe finally spoke up once they reached the bar – speaking as she picked up the menu, passing it immediately to Beca.

Beca accepted the menu with a quiet _‘thank you_ ’ and a questioning gaze to Chloe, who bit her lip, “I’m that person who always looks up the menu of the places I’m going so I can decide what I’m having beforehand,” she admitted reluctantly.

Beca chuckled, finally starting to relax “What’s good then, Beale?” she chose not to tease Chloe about that revelation. She was already on the back foot with Chloe, she didn’t want to make it any worse.

Chloe peered over Beca’s right shoulder at the menu, her right hand coming out to point at the top of the menu, “I think I’m going to try the Meadowsweet Martini,” she advised Beca, her finger lingering for a moment before gliding down the menu to another drink, “But I also really wanted to try the Toasted Coconut Old Fashioned,” she hummed thoughtfully, a sound Beca felt travel from her head to her toes due to Chloe’s proximity to her.

Beca nodded, placing the menu down on the bar and turning to Chloe, leaning her back against the bar, “The Old Fashioned looks good,” she agreed, “I’ll get that, then you can try both,” she nodded resolutely, “You wanna go grab a table and I’ll get these?”

Chloe bit her tongue to stop herself from arguing; desperate to try and make a better impression tonight, “Sure, thank you.” Better.

She found a quiet table in a corner of the room and sat with her back to the wall, watching Beca chat easily with the bartender as he made their drinks. She looked more relaxed and smiled more than she had with Chloe so far this evening and the actress knew that she had to work on whatever it was that was causing her to act so out of sorts around Beca, who was clearly a completely decent and kind person.

It took a ridiculous amount of time to make the drinks, but it gave Chloe some time to give herself a pep talk that she cut short as Beca made her way over – placing the martini glass in front of Chloe and the crystal tumbler in her hand in front of her own chair before sinking down into it with a smile. “I might order our next round now,” Beca quipped, “That way they might be just about ready when we finish these drinks,” she drawled sarcastically.

Chloe grinned, bringing her glass to her lips and taking a short sip, “ _Wow_ ,” she commented as she set the glass down, “I mean it may have taken forever to make, but it was totally worth it,” she gushed, using her fingers pressed to the base of the glass to push it across the table towards Beca, “Try it.”

“I dunno,” Beca quirked an eyebrow at the cloudy clear drink with foliage sticking out of it, “It looks kinda gross,” she screwed her face up at the glass even as she lifted it to her mouth.

Chloe snorted, reaching across the table to grasp Beca’s tumbler full of amber liquid, “Shall we toast?” she held Beca’s glass out to her, smiling as the younger girl clinked the martini glass in her hand against it before taking a sip, her face instantly screwing up.

“Oh god,” Beca immediately slid Chloe’s drink back to her, “Here’s to better booze,” she deadpanned, allowing herself a genuine smile as Chloe laughed, actually laughed in her presence. It gave Beca a strangely pleasant feeling in the pit of her stomach.

Chloe pressed the tumbler back into Beca’s waiting palm after taking a sip, “That’s amazing, too – hopefully you’ll like it more.”

Beca took a quick sip of her drink and her eyes closed involuntarily, “Mmm, much better,” she purred. When her eyes opened, Beca saw Chloe staring intensely at her, “What?” Beca questioned Chloe’s gaze. She caught the blush ghosting Chloe’s cheeks, but the red head shook her head and changed the conversation.

“I thought your song today was seriously amazing,” Chloe admitted, the fingers of her right hand playing with the stem of her glass.

Beca raised her eyebrows, “Thanks,” she smiled, “It’s probably the most personal song I’ve ever written,” she admitted with a shrug.

“I could feel that,” Chloe understood, “Like you were feeling really vulnerable, but putting a really strong dance beat on it to balance that out. I just, it really blew me away,” Chloe looked genuinely awestruck and had so clearly thought about the song, Beca found herself opening up easily.

“Exactly,” she agreed with a smile, “Everything’s been moving so quickly recently, it’s pretty overwhelming,” Beca admitted, training her eyes down to her drink that was held loosely in her right hand, “Music is everything to me and of course I want to be successful at it,” she expounded, eyes rising to meet Chloe’s, “But being famous? Not so much. I don’t think I’m coping with it that well. Hence the song. I feel like I’m just constantly anxious at the moment.”

Chloe’s eyes widened in shock, “That really surprises me,” she spoke honestly, “You seem as though you’re absolutely bossing it, if that’s any consolation. Very cool and collected.”

If Chloe hadn’t heard that song today and listened to those lyrics and the raw emotion in Beca’s voice, she would have called bullshit on Beca’s admission. However, it seemed as though, this whole time, Chloe had got Beca completely wrong.

“It actually is,” Beca nodded gratefully, “It’s good to know that my face isn’t betraying the fact that I’m almost constantly on the precipice of throwing up,” she spoke with a small smile.

Beca’s left hand, the one not wrapped around her glass, was palm down against the table, tapping out a nervous beat. It was the first tell Chloe had confirming what Beca was telling her. Chloe couldn’t even begin to stop herself reaching across the table with her right hand to cover Beca’s fingers, stilling them.

Beca’s breath caught in her throat audibly as she stared at their joined hands before looking up to meet Chloe’s eyes, which Beca noticed had softened considerably since their first meeting.

Reassured that Beca wasn’t going to pull away as though she’d been burnt, Chloe’s fingers curled around Beca’s, squeezing gently, “It’s a terrifying adjustment, this life,” Chloe admitted softly, “You’re doing great, though, and if you ever need to talk to someone who’s been there,” she offered with a smile.

“Thanks Chlo,” Beca spoke warmly, and Chloe felt the corners of her mouth pull up in a smile at the nkckname. She could get used to that.

*

Neither girl knew how much time has passed, but they were both two more cocktails down each and tipsy, laughing as Beca recounted another of her media blunders.

“I thought you had the potential to be trouble when you nearly snapped that guy’s head off at the MTV awards,” Chloe nodded knowingly with a sympathetic smile to Beca whose brow immediately furrowed dramatically.

She made a noise of disgust, “He was a dick,” she explained simply.

Chloe laughed, “It was definitely a dick move, I was thinking exactly what you said,” Chloe reassured, before turning back to the topic they were actually on, “So, how are things with you and Taylor now?” she quirked an eyebrow, intrigued.

Beca shrugged, the alcohol in her system making the action much more dramatic than it needed to be, “I don’t know, haven’t seen her since. It was just one throwaway comment that I thought her older music was better than her more recent stuff – that’s fine to say, right?” she implored, tilting her head questioningly and Chloe found the action entirely too adorable.

Chloe rolled her lips, “I mean, I haven’t seen the interview so I don’t know how you said it,” she was not at all reassuring, a hint of a smile on her face as she teased.

“Fuck,” Beca ran a nervous hand through her hair, “Well, that settles it, I need to form my own powerful famous girl squad – you in?” she asked Chloe, deadly seriously, causing the older girl to burst into laughter.

“What?!”

Beca leaned closer into Chloe over the table, “Taylor has her all powerful squad, I need one, too. Just in case she throws down and asks me to meet her in a parking lot in downtown LA at any point for a showdown,” Beca was still completely serious, but she allowed herself a smile as she spoke because Chloe was now laughing so hard she was having to wipe tears off her cheeks, “What do you say, Beale? Are you with me?”

Those words sobered Chloe and she stopped laughing, meeting Beca’s eyes, “I mean, I could probably take her, so yeah sure, count me in. Who else do we have?” She tried to play down the way Beca’s look was making her feel with her playful comment.

“I mean, just Emily right now...maybe Aubrey,” Beca grimaced.

Chloe nodded soberly, “We’re probably gonna get our asses handed to us, then.”

“Oh, for sure,” Beca agreed easily with a smile.

The two girls just sat smiling at each other for a long moment, before Chloe broke it, “I, uh, just need to go to the bathroom, I’ll be right back,” she informed, standing up as Beca nodded.

“I’ll be here,” the younger girl quipped, shocked when, as she was walking away, Chloe had stopped briefly to squeeze her shoulder through her tee.

Once she got to the bathroom, Chloe stood with her hands pressed against the cold porcelain of the sink, staring at herself in the mirror, trying to clear her mind of the haze it had been under due to Beca’s proximity all evening.

Beca had not been one ounce of the fame obsessed, self-involved asshole that Chloe had made her out to be in her head. In fact, the opposite was true, and Chloe found herself in an even more difficult situation – liking Beca much more than she knew she was allowed to. That way led to an even bigger world of pain than hating her guts did.

She was determined to try and make being friends work, though, because that would surely be better than not having this enigma of a woman in her life at all.

Chloe was upset that her flight left tomorrow afternoon, meaning she wouldn’t be able to see Beca’s last show, but she had promised the younger girl during their conversations that she’d get out to the next show that she could back in the States.

Chloe gave herself a quick talking to, ‘ _One more drink, exchange numbers, arrange to hang out when we’re both back in LA,_ ’ and gave herself a resolute nod in the mirror. She was so distracted by her thoughts that she totally forget she even needed the bathroom until she was halfway back out the door again, meaning she had to go back.

By the time she was making her way back to the bar, Chloe realised she’d been gone for a while and had an apology waiting on her tongue until her eyes found their table and Beca talking animatedly to some blonde girl in the shortest, lowest cut black dress Chloe had ever seen.

Chloe froze where she stood a little distance away, Beca’s back almost to her so she couldn’t see Chloe. Chloe, however, could see the girl reach out and place her hand over Beca’s, just as Chloe had done earlier, and the hungry look in the woman’s eyes.

Chloe did not see Beca trying to get rid of her in any way. Chloe couldn’t believe it. She had been right about Beca all along, and had allowed herself to be sucked into her charm and disarming smile. As soon as Chloe was gone from view, she was clearly forgotten by Beca in favour of the next shiny thing to come her way. She didn’t look like someone not enjoying the lifestyle of the rich and famous.

Shaking her head, Chloe turned and left the bar without a backward glance, out of the bar and away from Beca Mitchell.

*

It took another 20 minutes for there to be a knock at Chloe’s room door, which brought her out of her furious pacing of her room and thoughts. She froze at the sound, not wanting to answer if –

“Chloe?” It was Beca, “I’m really worried about you, are you in here?” she called through the door, and Chloe tried desperately to not react to how genuine she sounded, instead pursing her lips to keep herself quiet.

She heard Beca sigh from the other side of the door and a thud against it, “I have your purse...?” Beca offered, causing Chloe to curse. She would need that, and had totally forgotten it in her anger.

With an anxious deep breath, Chloe pulled the door open and watched as Beca’s pained expression immediately melted into relief.

“Thank god you’re ok,” Beca’s relief was evident in her tone ad she stepped into the room and closed the door behind her, Chloe in too much shock to stop her, “Are you ill or something? You should have told me, I would have brought you back, made sure you were ok,” her eyes were earnest as she searched Chloe’s for any sign that she actually was unwell, her brow furrowing when she didn’t find any.

Chloe remembered why she was angry and snatched her purse out of Beca’s prone hand, “I’m fine, just didn’t want to interrupt your evening with your new friend – sorry to tear you away but you can get back to her now,” she sneered, anger dripping from her tone.

Beca literally stumbled back at Chloe’s words, her back pressing against the door as the unexpected force of Chloe’s words hit her, but that shock was replaced by her own anger, and hurt, “Wow,” she deadpanned, “I thought we were finally starting to get past the whole ‘you thinking I’m an asshole for no reason’ schtick, but apparently not,” she fumed, feeling a tiny glimmer of grim satisfaction as Chloe recoiled, “That girl said she was a fan – I tried to be polite for 5 minutes before politely asking her to leave...a lot. I kept looking around for you to come back and save me. When I realised you weren’t I ended up having to make enough of a scene that hotel security came and removed her,” Beca explained, her anger fading into resignation as she spoke.

Chloe’s heart sank. God she was such a dick sometimes, “Beca, I...” she cut off, unsure how she was going to come back from this one. Beca looked like a kicked puppy, struggling to meet Chloe’s eyes.

“I don’t get it,” Beca spoke quietly, eyes trained on her feet, “Most of the time it feels like you really don’t like me, and I have no idea why, and then tonight...” she trailed off, her eyes rising to meet Chloe’s where she opened her mouth with a wordless shrug.

Chloe couldn’t think; could scarcely breathe. Beca was stood before her, so vulnerable and confused and all she knew was that she needed to fix that immediately.

Chloe took a step forward so she was a hairs breadth from Beca, who was still stood just in front of the door to the room. Beca sucked in a breath at Chloe’s proximity to her, her eyes rising to meet Chloe’s in question.

Without another word, Chloe lifted her right hand and cupped Beca’s cheek, dipping forward and pressing her mouth against Beca’s unsuspecting lips, just for a moment.

Beca gasped as Chloe pulled away, but the red head stayed close, her hand still against Beca’s cheek, her eyes searching Beca’s for any clue as to what her response would be to that.

Beca’s eyes narrowed in question, her eyes dropping to Chloe’s lips where Chloe had just pulled her bottom lip between her teeth in worry, and she broke, “Do that again,” she whispered, sighing as Chloe’s lips were on hers again immediately, as if she’d been waiting on a hair pin for that instruction.

Chloe’s body pressed Beca into the door with a gentle thud. Beca’s hands found grounding on Chloe’s hips and held her close as they separated and Beca tilted her head to get a better angle as their mouths met again, open this time.

Chloe gasped as Beca’s tongue met hers and the grip at her hips tightened.

Beca's arms wrapped tightly around Chloe's waist as they continued to separate and come together, nipping at Chloe's bottom lip and then pressing forward with her tongue.

Chloe found herself getting lost in the all encompassing feeling of Beca, everywhere - the way she was being kissed within an inch or her life. It was completely intoxicating...and wrong.

Chloe tore herself away from Beca as that thought entered her head, putting a solid foot of distance between them, the fingers of her right hand pressed against her lips, eyes full of panic.

Beca pressed her hands to the door behind her to steady herself, chest heaving. She searched Chloe’s eyes and saw the panic there and tried to pre-empt it, “Chlo, it’s ok,” she soothed, taking a step forward to try and reach out to her.

Chloe took a step back, avoiding the physical contact. “It’s not,” Chloe countered, her tone firm, eyes hardening, “I can’t – please, look I’m sorry but please can you just leave?”

If Beca has looked crestfallen before, she looked absolutely crushed now, “Please, Chloe, can we just talk about this?” she begged, not wanting to lose whatever this was. 

“There’s nothing to talk about,” Chloe responded firmly, “Please can you just go.”

Beca opened her mouth as if to say something else, but looking Chloe in the eye Beca could see she had completely shut down.

With a shake of her head and one final piercing look at Chloe, who Beca could see was holding back tears, she turned and opened the door, stepping over the threshold.

“Beca?” Chloe called, voice wavering just before Beca disappeared from view. Beca turned back, eyebrows rising in semi-hopeful question, “You – you can’t tell anyone about this.”

Beca felt those words like a punch to the face and recoiled with a bitter huff, “Screw you, Chloe,” she spat, letting the door to the room click shut behind her with a sense of finality.

Beca had been done feeling ashamed for the way she felt a long time ago and wasn’t about to let someone drag her back down there.

On the other side of the door, Chloe’s resolve finally cracked and her knees gave way and she collapsed to the floor, pressing her right hand to her mouth to muffle her sobs.

What had she done?


	7. Chapter 7

It had been four days since Beca had returned from London, and she had been utterly miserable for every single one of them.

Aubrey had pressed her on what had happened between her and Chloe, but Beca had just said that they didn’t get on very well and left it at that. As angry as she was with Chloe, she would never betray her trust or put her in a difficult position. It was the first time in a long time that Beca had not been totally honest with Aubrey and that made Beca even more annoyed with Chloe.

Speaking of Aubrey, the two of them were sat in the back of a car on their way to Amy’s office for this dreaded meeting. Aubrey had pretty much had to drag Beca out of her apartment and get her dressed in clothes that were acceptable to the outside world. She had been staring out the window of the car sulking ever since.

“That video of you playing Panic Room in London has gone viral,” Aubrey advised Beca, eyes half on the tablet in her lap, half on Beca, “The label want you to release it as your next single.”

Beca hummed, distracted, not tearing her eyes from the window, “Makes sense,” she responded, half-heartedly.

“Beca,” Aubrey spoke sharply, locking her tablet and pressing it down into her lap firmly, turning to face her friend fully, “I need you to snap out of this.” Her tone made Beca’s head whip round, “Whatever’s going on we are going to talk about, I promise you, but right now we need to focus on this meeting.”

Beca shrugged, “I don’t want to go to this meeting, Bree, let alone focus on it.” She defended herself, pouting.

“Right,” Aubrey confirmed, “But you also promised me that you would try, just this meeting. Right?”

Beca huffed indignantly, her hands slapping against her thighs, “Fine, fine...but you’re taking me to In-N-Out when we’re done and getting me whatever I want,” she said with a pointed look, and the sliver of personality that Aubrey saw bleeding through the cracks reassured her.

“You’ve got it.”

*

Aubrey reached across Beca’s lap and pressed a hand firmly to the bouncing knee on the other side of her, stopping the motion, “Calm down,” she urged, patting Beca’s knee before withdrawing.

Beca opened her mouth to respond, but was interrupted as the woman herself appeared in a flurry of movement.

“Beca!” Amy greeted her and Aubrey as they sat waiting in the lobby of her offices.

Beca remained seated until Aubrey nudged her in the side with her shoulder, urging her to stand, “Amy, hi,” Beca greeted with a tight smile as she obediently stood.

“Get in here,” Amy pulled Beca into a hug, against her will, and Beca could hear Aubrey chuckling quietly behind her, “I am so excited about this,” she pulled back and held Beca at arm’s length, “Are you excited?”

Beca glanced over her shoulder at Aubrey, silently imploring her to get them the fuck out of there. Aubrey shook her head and Beca sighed, turning back to Amy, “I’m very excited,” she couldn’t have sounded less enthused if she tried.

“Great!” Amy was utterly clueless, “Let’s head down to the conference room, I have a bit of a surprise for you both,” she wiggled her eyebrows at Beca as she led her down the long hallway full of pictures of, huh, Amy in various poses and various brightly coloured outfits, bringing them to a stop in front of a door, “I wasn’t sure I’d be able to make this happen today so I didn’t want to say anything before, but I’ve managed to arrange for the other lead for the film to be here today so we can have a chemistry test and see how you guys work together!” Amy exclaimed, clearly delighted by this prospect, clapping herself like a seal.

“What?!” Beca turned to Aubrey again, “I didn’t know anyone else was gonna be here today.” Beca wasn’t super psyched about doing any acting in front of Amy and Aubrey alone, let alone chucking an actual actor into the mix.

Amy screwed her eyebrows together, “Well no, that’s exactly what I just said,” she responded dumbly, “Keep up, Beca.”

Beca looked back down the hallway that she’d just walked down, trying to decide if Aubrey would be able to catch her if she made a run for it. An image flashed through her mind of her setting off; Aubrey hot on her heels, grabbing Beca round the waist and rugby tackling them both to the ground. Beca felt the imaginary winding and thought better of it. She rolled her neck, resigned to her fate, “Ok, let’s do this.”

Amy opened the door with a flourish and a very overenthusiastic “Ta dah!” that distracted Beca momentarily so she didn’t even looking at who was in the room.

However, when she heard a loud, familiar, gasp, she span on her heels and physically couldn’t stop the next words spilling from her lips as she caught sight of red hair and blue eyes.

“You have got to be fucking kidding me.”

Beca’s eyes met Chloe’s for the briefest moment, totally ignoring the two girls flanking either side of her, before she turned back to Aubrey who was looking at her in concern.

“Beca, meet Chloe Beale. Chloe – didn’t I tell you I had someone special in mind?” Amy beamed, completely oblivious to the fact that the temperature of the room had dropped about ten degrees.

Chloe was panicking. She wouldn’t have, in a million years, guessed that Beca was who Amy had pegged to star alongside her in this movie. It was like the universe was conspiring against her.

She stood on shaky legs and came to stand next to Amy, trying her hardest to look totally calm and collected. “Beca is who you’ve been talking about these last few weeks,” Chloe tried to keep her voice even as she addressed Amy, trying not to catch Beca’s eyes.

“Yep!” Amy beamed, “Isn’t that an absolute stroke of genius on my part? I knew we needed to start looking outside the box!”

“It’s definitely something,” Chloe confirmed, turning to Beca, plastering on a tight lipped smile, “I didn’t know you acted,” Chloe was praying she sounded as breezy as she wanted to, hoping against hope that Beca wasn’t going to do anything that could potentially ruin her life right now – Beca held a lot of power over her right now.

Beca bit her bottom lip, turning to Chloe, comforted as she felt Aubrey immediately step up behind her and press a hand to the small of her back – providing a comforting presence, “I don’t,” Beca responded quickly, “I’m sorry Amy,” she turned to the Director, “I want your film to be a success, but I’m not gonna be the person who gets you that,” she turned to Aubrey, “Can we get out of here?” she begged, eyes desperate.

If Beca had been reluctant before, she was downright convinced now that this was not for her.

Aubrey looked as though she was going to actually agree with Beca, the younger girl looked so absolutely distraught, but Amy got there first, “Whoa, what? That’s not what you were saying just now – what’s going on?”

Beca chanced a glance up at Chloe, who looked utterly panicked, her eyes pleading with Beca to not let anything slip. Beca was in a completely impossible situation, and the only solution she saw without raising some serious questions about what was going on between them was to stick around.

She sighed, “Sorry, I’m just nervous. Let’s just get on with it, yeah?”

Amy slapped her shoulder firmly, “Atta girl,” she crossed the room to where three chairs had been set up – Amy sinking into the one facing the other two that had a video camera next to it trained on the two seats before her, “Aubrey, you can sit with Stacie and C-R,” she nodded over to the two girls Chloe had originally been sat with, “Chloe, Beca, you guys get over here,” she ushered them over to the seats in front of her.

Aubrey turned Beca round to face her with her hands on the smaller girl’s shoulders, “Are you ok?” she whispered, glancing over to Chloe who was not at all subtly trying to listen to their conversation.

“Not really,” Beca admitted with a sigh, “Let’s just get this over and done with.” She flashed Aubrey a smile that didn’t even come close to reaching her eyes.

Beca sank into the seat in front of Amy with a deep exhale, pressing her hands to her thighs, eyes trained on Amy even as Chloe fell into the seat next to her, “Right,” Amy clapped her hands together, “So Chloe knows a fair bit about the film, but for you Beca – the basic premise is you starting college – you’re this kind of alternative, cool girl who’s a bit of a loner and doesn’t want to be there. Chloe’s a Senior who runs a singing group that you end up joining and together you make each other better, blah blah blah,” she waved her hand dismissively. Beca was right – this godforsaken film sounded queer as balls.

“Sounds great,” she lied, pursing her lips, “So, what do you want me to do right now?”

Amy looked between the two girls gleefully, “So the film will obviously have a script, but I’m really keen on you guys ad libbing or just playing off each other a bit, so I want to see how you do that...with a bit of improv!” she advised the two girls, rubbing her hands together gleefully.

“Oh my god,” Beca whimpered, her head dropping.

Chloe wasn’t faring much better but she knew she needed to try and hold it together better than Beca currently was, “Ok great,” she spoke agreeably, “What’s the scenario?”

Amy leant back in her chair, stroking her chin, “Ok!” she exclaimed after a moment, “You are best friends at a party. Chloe, you’ve just found out Beca’s been hooking up with your boyfriend and you’re confronting her about it in front of loads of people,” Amy finished, waving an arm in front of her, “Up you get ladies, whenever you’re ready.”

Beca sucked in a breath, steeling herself with her hands gripping either side of the seat she was on before she rose to stand, pushing the chair out behind her to give her a bit of space. She turned to Chloe who was doing the same, but Beca still struggled to meet Chloe’s eyes.

Chloe tried to put everything else behind her and focus on the task at hand, rolling her neck and taking a couple of steps back. This caught Beca’s attention and she looked up in time to see Chloe’s face harden and watch her stalk back over to her.

“Beca,” Chloe’s tone was hard as she came to a stop much closer than Beca really wanted her to be, drowning her in memories of being pressed against a hotel room door that she had been desperately trying to banish from her head.

Beca realised she had been ignoring Chloe, and whilst improv was about doing your own thing, she was pretty sure she was fucking it up right now.

“Hey Chlo, what’s up?” she decided to play it cool, plastering a confident smirk on her face and finally meeting Chloe’s eyes, watching the older girl falter the moment their eyes met.

When Chloe recovered, she furrowed her brow, mouth setting in a firm line, “What’s up?! How about you tell me why you’re all over my boyfriend’s phone?”

“Ummm, because we’re friends,” Beca responded, regarding Chloe dumbly, trying to get some of her frustration towards the older girl in her acting.

Chloe scoffed, “Friends?” she spat, voice full of disbelief, “Correct me if I’m wrong, Beca, but “friends” don’t usually send topless pictures to each other!”

Beca raised an eyebrow, wondering if Chloe was maybe considering what she might look like without a top on. Her mouth curled into a mischievous smirk as an idea hit her.

“Come on, Chloe – you’re being a bit hypocritical right now, aren’t you?” Beca accused with a raised eyebrow, and Chloe knew that she was walking into dangerous territory.

Chloe shook her head, “What are you talking about?”

Beca swallowed back her discomfort and leant forward, narrowing her eyes at Chloe, “You’re losing your shit over your boyfriend straying, when you’re spending all of your free time hooking up,” Beca paused, voice lowering as her eyes dropped to Chloe’s lips before rising to meet her eyes again, “with _me_.”

Chloe gasped audibly, and Amy literally squealed, clapping her hands together. Beca felt a smug sense of satisfaction as Chloe’s cheeks reddened and her eyes flit around in her head, desperately searching for any kind of response.

“No,” was all she could come up with, “That’s not...we’re not...”

Beca tutted, glancing around the imaginary circle of people that would have crowded round at this party as their argument started, “You can lie all you want in front of all your friends, but you and I both know that I’m the one you come crawling to late at night because no one has ever made you feel as good as I do,” she purred, grinning wickedly as Chloe’s breath caught and her hands balled into fists at her sides.

“Beca,” Chloe breathed out a warning, and Beca wasn’t sure if this was still acting or if Chloe had dropped her character now and was starting to freak out.

Still, she pressed on, “That’s it, baby, that’s exactly what you were saying last night," Beca got right up in Chloe's face, " _‘Yes, Beca, Please, Beca, Harder, Beca,’_ ” Beca even threw a breathy sigh in there for good measure, trying not to grin as she caught sight of Chloe’s friends fanning themselves in the background.

She turned her eyes back to Chloe, who looked like she was going to pounce...to slap her or kiss her, Beca wasn’t sure she knew, or was ready to find out. Thankfully, she didn’t have to.

“Ok, cut it there!” Amy’s voice tore through Beca, who for a moment totally forgot she had been acting. Beca could tell that Chloe was trying to meet her eyes, so she avoided her completely, pulling her chair back in front of Amy and sitting down, “That was literally electric! Beca – you have got exactly the kind of BDE I’ve been looking for for this character!” Amy described emphatically.

Beca’s face screwed up, “What the hell is BDE?”

“Big dick energy!” Amy exclaimed loudly, fanning her hands at her crotch as she spoke.

“That’s actually quite a nice compliment, thanks,” Beca nodded appreciatively, sinking back into her seat.

Amy hummed, eyes flitting between the two girls, “There’s an amazing intensity between you two that I think we can explore within the film,” she expounded, “Beca you are literally it for this role, can we shake on it?”

Beca turned to Aubrey, who was sat watching her intensely across the room, “I need to talk to Aubrey,” Beca explained, turning back to Amy, “Maybe we could set up another meeting in the next couple of days?”

In truth, Beca didn’t want Chloe in on any of this and needed some time to clear her head, to gather her thoughts.

“Of course,” Amy conceded with a smile, “I’d just want to hear how you guys sing together first if you’re happy to give that a go now?” she queried, but this time finally caught on to the look Beca was giving her and interpreted it appropriately, “We can do that another time," she reassured with a wave of her hand.

“Great,” Beca responded quickly, dismissively, standing, “Ready to go, Bree?”

Aubrey immediately stood and came to Beca’s side, “Amy I’ll email you for more details. We’ll need to know about the time commitments on this – Beca’s label are itching to get her on a US tour as quickly as possible so that will be part of her considerations.”

Amy nodded, “Understood. One of my minions will get right on that,” she flashed Aubrey a brilliant smile before turning back to Beca, “Thanks for coming in today, Shortstack. You’re an absolute star in the making.”

“Thanks, Amy,” Beca forced on a smile, nodding to Aubrey.

“Let’s go,” Aubrey placed a hand on Beca’s shoulder and started to steer her out of the room. As they neared the door, Beca could hear quick footsteps behind her and braced herself for the inevitable.

“Beca, could I speak to you quickly?” Chloe appeared at her side and Aubrey could feel Beca physically stiffen under her hand.

Aubrey gripped Beca’s shoulder and then gave her a gentle nudge, “Wait for me outside?” she urged, nodding as Beca regarded her with confusion.

Beca let out the breath she didn’t know she’d been holding and flashed Aubrey a grateful smile, leaving the room without a backwards glance to Chloe.

“I don’t know what’s happening here,” Aubrey spun on her heels to regard Chloe with narrowed eyes, voice hushed, “But I’m watching you,” she warned, her lips set in a firm line as she regarded Chloe’s wide, petrified eyes.

Chloe bit her lip, sucking in a shaky breath, “Please,” she urged Aubrey, “Please ask her to call me or something.”

“I’ll tell her you want to talk,” Aubrey offered, nodding as Chloe smiled gratefully, 

As she left the room, Aubrey was pretty sure she had figured out what was going on. 


	8. Chapter 8

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> This was a lot of fun...

Two nights later, Chloe had been dragged out for drinks by Stacie and Cynthia-Rose who had watched their friend sink into a rut since her return from London, with absolutely no explanation for it, no matter how much they pressed.

Their alternative, therefore, was to take her out and get her drunk.

She was two Mojitos down and trying to put a brave face on it, but Chloe’s heart wasn’t in it. It was, as had near constantly been the case recently, consumed by a tiny brunette.

“Stacie, put your phone away, girl!” C-R chastised, glaring across the table at the Publicist, who rolled her eyes but kept them trained on her phone.

“It’s from Amy, about the movie, give me a sec,” Stacie explained, distracted, scanning her screen.

This piqued Chloe’s interest, “What is she saying?”

Stacie looked up from her phone to regard Chloe, “Dates for vocal and dance rehearsals – starting in two weeks. Beca’s in.”

Chloe’s heart stopped, “Beca’s in?”

It had gone very quiet after the semi-audition at Amy’s office, and Chloe had convinced herself that the young singer was going to run a mile and never look back – especially since she hadn’t heard from Beca after speaking to Aubrey at the end of the audition. She was still trying to work out if that thought devastated her or filled her with relief.

“Yep,” Stacie confirmed, “She signed contracts today, hence the start date for rehearsals,” Stacie typed out a quick reply to Amy and set her phone down, beaming a smile at the two girls sat with her, “That’s good news, right?”

“Her music is awesome,” C-R nodded, “And her improv the other day was fire,” she elongated the last word, fanning herself for effect.

Both girls turned to Chloe, expecting her to say something, but coming up empty, “What about you, Chlo?” Stacie prompted, nodding at her friend, “You’re the one that’s gonna have to work with her for the next couple of months.”

Hearing that out loud made Chloe panic a bit. How was she going to manage that? She was just staring wide eyed ahead of her as the thought of how awkward her life was about to become consumed her. Why on Earth would Beca agree to do this?!

“Chloe? Where’d you go?” C-R queried, concerned, head tilted to the side in question.

Chloe shook her head, trying to dispel her internal meltdown, “Yeah, it should be great,” she enthused, half-heartedly, “Beca’s great.”

Stacie and C-R shared a look, which didn’t go unnoticed by Chloe, “What?” she questioned the two girls, glancing between them.

“You go,” C-R nodded to Stacie, raising her hands to surrender any responsibility.

Chloe was even more confused, and annoyed, as her eyes shot from C-R to Stacie, “Someone start talking. Now.”

Stacie sighed, placing her left hand over the top of Chloe’s right that was pressed palm down against the table, “Chlo, is something going on between you and Beca?” she asked, smiling sympathetically.

“What?” Chloe tore her hand away from Stacie’s, eyes widened in panic, “Why would you think that?”

This was not going to go well if Chloe was wearing her feelings for Beca like a neon sign.

C-R leant forwards across the table, getting up in Chloe’s space, “Girl, you know you can talk to us about this, if no one else.”

Chloe tried to stare C-R down, but the other girl held firm. It was Chloe’s gaze that withered first and she trained her eyes to the ceiling, blinking back tears.

“Let’s get out of here,” Stacie urged gently, pressing her hand to Chloe’s shoulder.

*

Less than fifteen minutes later Stacie’s SUV was pulled up in the parking lot of a Taco Bell so the girls could stuff their faces.

“I must be getting old,” C-R spoke around a mouthful of food from the car’s backseat, “I much prefer this than being out drinking.”

Stacie turned to Chloe, “Tell us everything about Beca, then,” she demanded, tone firm but full of affection.

Chloe steeled herself, staring out of the windscreen from the passenger seat, “When we met up in London I kissed her and then told her we could never do that again and that she couldn’t tell anyone it happened in the first place. The audition the other day was the first time I had seen her since,” she admitted, deflating as she did so.

C-R hummed knowingly from the back of the car, “Didn’t I tell you it was sexual tension!” she told Stacie triumphantly, who nodded.

“Chlo, do you not think maybe now might be the time? Especially if you’re about to start spending a lot of time with someone you might really like?” she offered tentatively, bracing herself for the inevitable response she got every time this particular subject was raised. She was not disappointed.

Chloe shook her head vehemently, “It isn’t ever going to be the time, Stace,” she spoke with finality, “Besides there won’t be an issue there. Beca can barely look at me now, she probably hates me.” She bit her bottom lip hard to try and avoid expressing how that possibility made her feel.

“Well you guys are going to be around each other a lot over the next few months, you need to figure out how you’re going to handle that, and quickly,” Stacie warned, face full of concern for her friend. This was the one thing they constantly butted heads about. Stacie just wanted Chloe to be happy, and she definitely was not right now.

Chloe nodded, “I’ll figure it out,” she went back to staring out of the windscreen, “It’s going to be fine.”

*

Newsflash: It was not fine.

Chloe and Beca were having their first dance lesson together – just them and their choreographer. With the added bonus of Amy, Aubrey and Stacie sat at the back of the studio eating snacks and getting on like a house on fire – which was more than could be said for Beca and Chloe.

Chloe huffed, for the hundredth time, as Beca stumbled when crossing her feet as she tried to follow the choreographer’s spin, which did not go unnoticed by the younger girl.

“Can we take a break?” Beca asked, leaning over to press her hands against her thighs, her voice laced with frustration. She was exhausted, and this dancing thing was stupid and ridiculously hard.

Their choreographer, Jack, shook his head sympathetically and Chloe scoffed from her side, “It’s only been fifteen minutes,” she scalded.

Chloe had wanted to start her time with Beca by burying the hatchet and trying to be friendly, but the second Beca arrived she had totally blanked Chloe and somehow figured out how to keep doing that for the last 40 minutes. So now Chloe was just trying to annoy Beca into reacting.

Beca was absolutely onto Chloe, which is why she stood tall and flashed Jack a grin, “Fine, please continue this torture,” she deadpanned sarcastically with a wave of her hand, completely blanking the older girl.

“Do you not do a lot of dancing as part of your day job?” Jack asked, casually, flashing Beca a grin as he took a sip from his water bottle to inadvertently give Beca the break she was asking for.

Beca shook her head vehemently, “I make my music myself which means for the most part I perform standing in front of a table,” she admitted with a wry grin, “So my idea of dancing is the occasional head nod,” she grimaced.

Jack set his bottle down and came to stand in front of the two girls, “Ok,” he set his hands on his hips, “I think we’ve started too big then,” he stated, “I thought you both had a dancing background.”

Beca had to fight hard not to look over at Chloe. What dancing background did she have? Beca didn’t know Chloe was going to actually be good – she would have tried to subtly pay more attention if she had.

“How’s your flexibility, Beca?” Jack asked, eyebrow quirked in question.

Beca baulked at that, “Excuse me?!”

“For dancing, cool your jets, hotshot,” Jack deadpanned sarcastically, and Beca heard Chloe snort from beside her, which caused her to roll her eyes.

This exchange, and the two girls’ whole demeanour towards each other since they had started his session, gave Jack a fabulous idea, “Ok,” he clapped his hands together, “Let’s just use this session to warm ourselves up, get our bodies limbered up and moving and encourage some bonding between the two of you," he expounded, "We'll just start with a bit of yoga!”

Beca actually didn’t hate that idea. Yoga was supposed to help you feel all calm and zen, she could definitely do with some of that right now, especially when the only thought running through her head was ‘ _why the fuck did you agree to do this?!_ ’

The reason she agreed to do it, she was well aware, was 1) Her annoying desire to not let people (read: Amy) down, and 2) Her even more annoying desire to not let Chloe have the satisfaction of thinking she had won. Won what, exactly? Beca had no idea.

Noting Beca’s not at all negative response, Jack pressed on, “Partner Yoga, of course!”

“What?!”

“Excuse me?!”

Two angry sets of eyes regarded Jack, but he continued, unperturbed, “Ok, to start with I want you to turn to each other and stand about an arm’s distance apart,” he instructed, nodding as both girls failed to follow his order for a long few moments.

Beca broke first, taking a deep, steadying breath before turning to face Chloe, who reluctantly did the same.

Beca trained her eyes over Chloe’s right shoulder, commending herself for her commitment to not looking at the other girl right now.

“Ok, so we’re going to start with a supported downward facing dog, so I want you to both go ahead and place your hands, palm down, on top of each other’s shoulders,” Jack directed, humming his appreciation as both girls shuffled reluctantly closer together to do so.

Chloe was so close to her face now that Beca couldn’t help but meet her eyes. What shocked her was that the frustration and potential anger she saw on first glance almost immediately disappeared within a blink of Chloe’s eyes and then she was just looking back at Beca with nothing but sadness.

“Great,” Jack broke the girls out of their staring contest, “Now you both need to step back slowly, keeping your arms on each other’s shoulders, bending at the waist until your upper bodies are at a right angle to your legs – awesome!” he exclaimed as the girls did as they asked, “Just hold that and breathe deeply, great job!”

Chloe could feel Beca’s arms trembling and gripped her shoulders tighter, as if that might help. Beca didn’t acknowledge her in any way.

“Ok perfect, so if you can slowly work your way back into a standing position, excellent,” Jack praised as they both returned to stand – Beca immediately ripping her hands free from Chloe’s shoulders as if they were suddenly going to burn her.

“Now both face me,” Jack instructed, grinning wickedly as they both did, “Stand next to each other, arms round each other’s waists and Chlo, right foot in and pressed to your left thigh and Beca the opposite – this one is the partner tree.”

Beca attempted to lift her left leg and press her foot into the inside of her opposite thigh; failing miserably and toppling onto her right side, almost displacing Chloe who was stood easily on one leg.

Beca cursed as she straightened and tried again. As her hand held the back of her ankle against her thigh, she felt herself starting to lose her balance again. She braced herself to stumble back onto two legs again, but before she could Chloe’s arm wrapped around her waist and instantly steadied her.

Beca sucked in a breath as she felt Chloe’s length pressed to her side, arm snug around her waist.

Beca tried to side eye Chloe, but the red head’s eyes were trained forward, the tiniest hint of a smile on her face.

Beca relented, gingerly wrapping her own arm around Chloe’s waist.

“Fantastic work,” Jack praised with a clap, “Great teamwork. Now, Chloe extend your right arm - Beca your left - and raise them over your heads to join together at the top,” he interlaced the fingers of both of his hands, by way of example.

Beca wondered if she was conveying quite enough ‘ _fuck you, dude_ ,’ with her eyes at this guy, whose intentions here seemed purely to be to destroy her.

Beca caught Chloe lifting her right arm out of the corner of her eye and so followed suit, biting her bottom lip as her heart stuttered in anticipation of what was to come.

It felt even more intense that Beca had no idea when her fingers were going to come into contact with Chloe’s and how she would react.

It was worse than she expected.

Beca had to physically restrain herself from making a sound as fingertrips brushed her own and then faltered, stalling. It was too much for Beca, and not enough.

She felt her fingers, totally involuntarily, sink into the spaces between Chloe’s and grasp firmly.

Beca felt simultaneously weighed down and feather light by the touch, a feeling that was only exacerbated as Chloe’s hand relaxed in her own and gave a gentle squeeze.

“Beautiful ladies,” Jack interrupted again, “Hold that for 10 and release.”

It was probably a lot longer than 10 seconds before either of them found the strength to let go of each other’s hands, or waists, but Beca knew without a shadow of a doubt that when she finally had both feet on the ground again (both literally and figuratively), she was a blushing mess.

“Well, you’re acing these – how about a trickier one?” Jack teased, wiggling his eyebrows at the two girls. Beca immediately panicked.

“Chlo, why don’t you go ahead and lie on your back and Beca, come and stand facing Chloe at her feet,” Jack instructed, ignoring Chloe’s knowing look of panic and Beca’s oblivious, but no less concerned, one, “Come on, cutie, down you go,” he instructed Chloe sweetly, ignoring the glare she sent his way as she sank on the floor on her back.

Chloe knew what was coming, holding her hands upwards on her elbows that were pressed to the floor. Beca did not.

“What happens now?” Beca realised she hadn’t said anything for a while, and that it felt really strange for her to be speaking then, like it was breaking some kind of spell she had been under.

Jack cleared his throat before he spoke again, “Now Beca, Chloe will lift her legs whilst you lean over her body. She’s press the soles of her feet into your hips and extends you over her own body, taking your wrists in her hands. You want to keep your legs completely straight and perpendicular to Chloe’s, but your upper body angled downwards so your head is kind of in line with the centre of the top of her chest. Chloe will hold your hands out past both of your bodies. It’ll be quite intense for you, but I think Chloe has the better body strength to be the base of this one,” Jack advised helpfully.

“I don’t know about this one,” Beca shook her head as she stared down at Chloe’s prone form lying before her.

For a long few seconds Beca allowed her mind to wander at the view, imaging Chloe was actually lying on a bed; Beca stood before her waiting to sink down into her mouth, between her legs... _everywhere_.

“Uh, hello? Earth to Beca?” A hand waving in her face from the side shocked Beca back to the present and she turned to Jack’s questioning face with a gasp, “I said Chloe will keep you safe, you just need to trust her,” he urged, and Beca suddenly felt like there was a lot more going on than just yoga here. She still wasn’t sure, though.

Chloe sighed from her position on the floor, “Beca, please hurry up and get on with it,” she urged, “It’s unsurprisingly uncomfortable down here.”

Beca deflated, stepping closer to Chloe, who lifted her legs and pressed them gently into Beca’s hips. Once she knew Beca was comfortable, Chloe extended her legs slowly as she lifted her hands up to grasp Beca’s wrists. Beca started to lift off the ground as Chloe straightened her legs. She had a moment of panic, but it was surprisingly fleeting. Chloe’s steady legs at her hips and her solid arms at her wrists made her feel entirely safe as she was being held aloft.

Beca remembered she was supposed to be tilting her head down. She quickly discovered what a terrible idea this was as it brought her face terrifyingly close to Chloe’s. Beca’s breath hitched as she looked down into deep, cerulean eyes.

It was catastrophically arousing to her that Chloe was holding her entire weight up and none of that effort was visible on her face. It got even worse when Chloe smirked and extended her arms behind her, stretching Beca’s own arms over her head.

Chloe glanced down along Beca’s body, humming at the sliver of skin exposed by her t-shirt riding up as a result of the stretch.

“Fuck,” Beca breathed out under her breath, suppressing a groan as Chloe’s eyes snapped back to her own, hungrily.

An over the top cough above the girls tore their attention away from each other; “Uhhh...you could have stopped this about 90 seconds ago,” Jack called out awkwardly.

Chloe reluctantly relaxed her legs and arms, allowing Beca to sink back onto her feet gently.

“Fuck my life,” Across the room, Aubrey’s face sank into her hands as she regarded the hotbed of awkward sexual tension unfolding before her.

Next to her, Stacie patted her shoulder sympathetically, “Tell me about it.”


	9. Chapter 9

Just over two weeks later and there had been some...minor improvements.

Beca was so exhausted from doing 4 dance lessons to every 1 Chloe had to attend (to be able to catch up with her) that the rest of the time she didn’t have the energy to play any games with Chloe. It had even got to a point where the two girls could exchange superficial pleasantries. It wasn’t perfect, but it didn’t make other people cringe in their presence anymore, which was a plus.

It was a Thursday night when they finally started filming for real. They were starting with an initiation party for the singing group and it was supposed to be the third time Beca and Chloe’s characters had met; the first time they had spent any real time together.

Beca had been mentally preparing herself for the idea of spending _actual_ time with Chloe for the last few days. None of the scenarios that she had run through in her head had ended well...well, apart from that one that woke her up very late at night, breathless and sweating, her right hand in a very compromising position.

“Ok gang, gather round,” Amy called to Beca, Chloe and crowd of extras they had in the area for the scene.

As Beca meandered her way over, she noticed that behind Amy’s directors chair, the cameras and screens was a trestle table covered in liquor bottles and red solo cups. Props? 

Chloe beat Beca to questioning it, “Shouldn’t all the booze props be in front of the camera if we’re having a party?” she queried, quirking an eyebrow at their eccentric director.

“Ehhhh,” Amy sounded out, “These are not props,” she grinned.

“Oh god,” Beca murmured, having a good idea where this was going.

Amy nodded, pointing triumphantly at Beca, “She’s got it,” she clapped her hands together, addressing the rest of the group, “I want you all to actually have one alcoholic drink," she enthused, "Beca and Chloe, I want you guys to have at least two shots, and then we’ll start filming!”

Beca opened her mouth to say something, but found there were no words.

She turned briefly to Chloe whose eyebrows were creased in question, before she acquiesced with a shrug. Having to engage with Beca and “become friends” with her on screen could only be assisted by the inclusion of alcohol. If Chloe was in, Beca had no reason to argue.

“Fuck it,” she shrugged, taking two long strides to Amy whose resulting grin could only be described as maniacal as she brandished a bottle of tequila and poured Beca an overflowing shot.

Beca knocked it back with a wince and a noise of complaint as it hit the back of her throat.

She watched, empty glass in hand, as Chloe took hers from Amy with much more poise and finesse than Beca had, tipping it down her throat and coming back with a smile. Of course she could even make that look good.

“Alright guys,” Amy clapped her hands together, “Go and get your make up touched up and be back here in 10 minutes to do our first take.”

Beca reluctantly sat in her chair, wincing uncomfortable at the woman who was clearly not a fan of her or the fact that her eye twitched on overdrive whenever a mascara wand or eye pencil came anywhere near her.

“I’m so sorry,” Beca apologised to her make up artist, Jess, who smiled good naturedly.

"We'll get there," she winked.

Across the room, Chloe was coping much better with her make up re-touching. She’d also made herself a random cocktail of the booze on Amy’s magical table of liquor which was helping make her feel much more relaxed about her upcoming first scene with Beca.

“Right, let’s go – Beca, Chloe, to your markers!” Amy called out.

Beca found her position high up in the amphitheatre, looking down at the crowd of extras in the centre below her, Chloe mingling with them all – her red solo cup still in hand.

Beca took a deep, centring breath. This was going to be the most interaction she and Chloe had had in a long while and she was starting to wish she’d done a couple more shots before doing this.

Amy’s voice over a megaphone tore Beca out of her thoughts as she shouted for everyone to take their markers and the cameramen to start filming their first take.

Beca put on her best bemused but ultimately unimpressed face (one she thankfully didn’t have to act too hard to portray), quirking an eyebrow as Chloe skipped up the steps towards her, a beaming smile on her face, her solo cup discarded on the floor.

Chloe came to a stop in front of Beca on the step below and, very much off script, reached forward and grasped Beca’s wrists in her own hands, pulling the smaller girl sharply towards her. The shock of the gesture meant that Beca’s look of surprise was extremely well acted.

Chloe’s face was close. Beca could see all of the individual flecks of colour in Chloe’s eyes and it was almost impossible for Beca to tear her own away.

“I am so glad that I met you,” Chloe murmured, words a little slurred.

Beca could practically taste the alcohol on the other girl’s breath, their mouths were so close. Chloe had been clearly taking Amy’s advice to get a bit tipsy very seriously. Beca wanted to respond – to beat Chloe at her own game - but she found herself absolutely spellbound into silence by the grinning idiot in her face. Completely without her permission, she simply continued to grin dumbly.

This seemed to spur Chloe on, who bounced on the balls of her feet, a sound not dissimilar to a squeak escaping her mouth as she pulled on Beca’s wrists again, so close that their mouths were almost touching, “I think that we’re gonna be _really_ fast friends,” Chloe whispered against Beca’s mouth, wiggling her eyebrows.

Beca had to rock back onto her heels, her wrists still encased in Chloe’s hands to stop the roaring of her pulse in her ears. She felt her breathing quicken and her heart hammer in her chest. This wasn’t how this scene was supposed to go. Chloe _was_ supposed to be playing the overbearing attempt at becoming Beca’s friend, but she wasn’t supposed to be _flirting_ with her. Nothing about Beca had been ready for this.

It was by an absolute miracle that she remembered her line – a nod to a scene that they had not yet filmed, but one that had been playing on Beca’s mind...a lot.

“Well,” Beca smirked, “You saw me naked, so...” she tipped her head with a wink, watching as the words sank into Chloe and a gentle blush rose on her cheeks as her eyes not so subtly scanned Beca’s body. She was finally starting to get back onto more even footing. 

Chloe recovered quickly, humming appreciatively, “You don’t need to remind me, like I could ever forget.” Damn. The ground beneath Beca's feet started to tremble again. 

Beca, in spite of herself, huffed out a laugh at that, before coming up with the perfect retort, “Well, anything to assist with your “ladyjam” material,” Beca was surprised Amy hadn’t cut the scene yet – they were going significantly off script at this point.

"Oh baby, anything from your lips is now my ladyjam," Chloe's voice was smooth as butter as her mouth curled up in a smirk.

Beca spluttered, eyes darting about before returning to Chloe, whose gaze was fixed intently on her.

Beca was distracted as she licked her lips subconsciously; drawing Chloe’s eyes directly to the action.

Beca watched Chloe closely, felt her thumbs rubbing circles gently into her wrists and felt her breath catch as Chloe’s mouth started moving towards her own.

“Ok cut!” Amy’s voice came through the obnoxious megaphone and Chloe gasped, ripping her hands and body away from Beca, “Take 5 everyone else – Beca, Chloe, over here!”

“Shit,” Beca murmured, running a hand through her hair as she tried to get the feeling back in her legs that had gone numb.

She glanced over to Chloe who was looking anywhere but at her, plastering on that big, fake smile that made Beca wonder if she’d ever get the opportunity to get to know the real Chloe.

“Ok ladies,” Beca caught the end of Amy’s comment as she had ambled over much slower than Chloe had, “I like what you’re doing – a lot. I mean, I can’t use like, half of it, but I want you to keep doing what you’re doing and taking the script where you want to. If it’s not working, I’ll tell you, and if you’re not hitting key points in the script clearly enough I’ll tell you too – ok?”

“Uhhh?” Beca queried, at the same time Chloe exclaimed a breezy, “Ok great.”

“Great,” Amy ignored Beca over Chloe, “Take 5 and then we’ll film the group dancing shots.”

Chloe nodded sharply before turning on her heels and making a beeline out of the amphitheatre, Beca hot on her heels. She needed to know what was going on.

“Chloe,” Beca called out, reaching out to gently grasp Chloe’s wrist when the other girl wouldn’t stop, “Just wait a second, please.”

Chloe whipped round, her arm tensing under Beca’s hand but not pulling away, “What’s up?” That too bright tone again.

“Do you think that maybe we should talk?” Beca offered, eyebrows furrowed.

Chloe quirked an eyebrow, scoffing, "I wanted to talk, after that meeting at Amy’s. I freaked out whenever my phone buzzed for the next week after that,” she admitted, eyes hardening, “I waited for you and got nothing. See how you like it,” she pulled her wrist free from Beca’s and stalked away.

“Fucccck,” Beca stomped, actually stomped her left foot as she watched the bane of her life walk away.


	10. Chapter 10

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Short and sweet...just to reassure you all I'm still alive and on this story

The next couple of days of filming were unbearable. Chloe could barely look Beca in the eye – even when she was talking directly to her in a scene.

Beca had given up trying and had even tried to persuade Aubrey to let her pull out of the film. Her manager was quick to veto that idea:

_“You’re going to have to work with people you don’t like in your career...get used to it,” Aubrey had deadpanned as the two friend’s ate takeout in Beca’s apartment after a long day’s filming._

_Beca narrowed her eyes, “I know you know it’s not as simple as that.”_

_“Maybe,” Aubrey confirmed, “But you won’t tell me what it’s really about and so I have no sympathy for you.”_

_Beca grumbled around her noodles, “You’re a harsh lady.”_

_“That’s why you keep me around.”_

Amy had started to get frustrated with the stifling tension during a scene in the fictional singing group’s rehearsal space where Chloe was supposed to teach Beca the dance moves by physically contorting the younger girl's body into the right shapes (a technique that would have actually benefited Beca two weeks prior to that).

Chloe had flat out refused to touch Beca and, when directed to do so by Amy, had what could only be described as a diva fit and had stormed off set.

Amy had immediately halted shooting for the morning and ordered Chloe and Beca into separate meetings with her to find out what was going on.

Chloe was up first.

“Listen, Red,” Amy swivelled round in her chair to face the actress sat across from her desk, whose head hung in shame, “I don’t have any time for you thinking you’re some superstar who can undermine my direction. I didn’t think you were like this,” her brows furrowed at Chloe, who was still yet to meet her eyes.

“She isn’t,” Stacie defended her client from her left, “Right, Chloe?” she turned to the red head, placing a hand on her arm and squeezing gently, demanding a response.

Chloe took the hint, heaving in a deep breath and lifting her head, her shoulders set back, “I’m sorry, Amy,” Chloe spoke earnestly with a sad grimace, “But I don’t think I can do this.”

“What?”

“CHLOE!”

The shocked reactions from Amy and Stacie jolted Chloe into realising what she had just said, but it didn’t change her mind, “I can’t,” she confirmed, “I just can’t do this with Beca. I would never ask you to get rid of her, though, so I’ll withdraw myself.”

Amy pressed both hands, palm down, on the desk in front of her with a sharp thwack, causing Chloe to jump in her seat, “What’s wrong with Beca? Have you two fallen out or something?”

Chloe shook her head, avoiding Stacie’s imploring gaze at her. She knew what her best friend would be silently asking, “It just doesn’t work, we just haven’t,” Chloe paused, wringing her hands together, “gelled,” she finished weakly with a shrug.

“Bullshit,” Amy leant back in her seat, her brow furrowed as she tried to figure out what was going on, “I haven’t seen chemistry like the two of you together since Harry met Sally – wait,” Amy sat bolt upright, the beginnings of a smile on her face, “Hold on a second.”

Chloe narrowed her eyes, wondering where Amy was going with this, “What?”

“You’re into Beca.”

Chloe’s eyes widened in horror and she whipped round to face Stacie, accusatorily, “What have you said to her?!”

Stacie raised her hands in surrender and opened her mouth to speak but was stopped by Amy, “She hasn’t said anything to me,” Chloe turned back to Amy slowly, tears pooling in her eyes, “She didn’t have to.”

Chloe opened her mouth, eyes wide and glistening with unshed tears, “I - ,” she wanted to say something but pure panic was seizing up her throat.

Sensing this, Amy stood from her seat and rounded the desk, coming to lean back against it in front of Chloe and give her the most reassuring smile she could, “Take a second,” Amy implored, becoming uncharacteristically gentle, “This isn’t that big of a deal. It’s clear Beca likes you too, maybe I could matchmake?”

“No!” Chloe suddenly found her voice, “It’s not that. It’s – I can’t be, I’m not _out_. I can’t be,” she deflated, sinking into her seat and wincing as Stacie sighed next to her.

Amy hummed thoughtfully, “Chloe, that’s crazy. Where did you get an idea like that?”

Chloe had to blink rapidly to prevent the tears from falling, “Why does everyone think it’s so easy? You, Beca – I’m sure you all look down on me because I can’t be that person. I’m not strong enough. You don’t think that eats me up enough as it is?”

“Chloe,” Amy spoke softly, “I would never ask you to do something you don’t want to do. I just want to make sure the actors working with me are happy...and you my dear, are not.”

“She’s right, Chlo,” Stacie added, “This has been coming for a long time.”

The discomfort of the situation was starting to make Chloe’s skin itch and the felt the walls of the large office closing in on her, “I need to get out of here, I’m sorry.”

She rose from her seat, ignoring Amy and Stacie’s pleas for her to stay and talk. She ripped the door of the office open to make a quick exit, stopping in her tracks as she was met with Beca’s stricken face on the other side – Aubrey sat on one of the seats in the small waiting area behind her.

Chloe’s heart sank. Beca had been stood at the door as if waiting to knock. She had obviously arrived early for her meeting with Amy.

“How long have you been stood there?” she asked in her smallest voice, daring to meet Beca’s eyes, her own still glistening with unshed tears.

Running a hand through her hair, a signal even Chloe had by now picked up expressed Beca’s anxiety, the younger girl blew out a breath, “Long enough,” she responded, “Chloe, I – ”

The redhead didn’t let her finish, “I can’t do this,” she sounded as apologetic as she could in the circumstances, offering Beca a sad, shaky smile before pushing past her and down the corridor.

Beca wasn’t sure how long she could keep letting Chloe walk away from her like that and so after a moment frozen to the spot, took off down the corridor after Chloe, calling out her name.

Chloe stopped, to Beca’s surprise, but didn’t turn round. “Don’t say anything,” Beca spoke to Chloe’s back, her own voice shaky, “You don’t even have to turn around,” she sucked in a breath, trying to keep her voice from cracking, “I’m not going to give up on you. When you’re ready to talk to me, just let me know and I swear to you, I will come running,” she broke at the end of the sentence.

Chloe had to press the back of her hand as she listened to Beca walk away from _her_ for once, and it took every ounce of her strength to get her feet to start moving in the same direction again and not about turn and throw herself at the younger girl. 


	11. Chapter 11

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Progress...finally?!

Amy had refused to take Chloe’s resignation from the movie, instead imposing a week’s break, that also happened to coincide with Beca’s pre-planned publicity trail for ‘Panic Room’.

Amy had instructed, through Stacie, for Chloe to take the week to think about her options and confirm her final decision the following Friday. Stacie had, in response, whisked Chloe away to their favourite spa for a few days, locking her away from the world.

Beca, on the other hand, had been forced into the extreme opposite – confronting the world with both barrels with no time to think about how this whole situation was crumbling around her. Part of that was a blessing, not that she would admit that to Aubrey.

She had been transported around the country on a whistlestop tour to attend radio interviews and TV slots before spending a day in a hotel suite in New York talking to a series of reporters about her new single.

She was 3 interviews in and bored stiff answering the same four questiona.

During the last interview, Aubrey had wandered in and out of the room Beca and the reporter had been in so that she could silently scald Beca with her eyes whenever she looked too disinterested or fidgety, which was often. She looked forward to reading what that reporter had made of her, all of her anxiety coming back full force.

By the time the fourth arrived at the door of the suite, Beca had thrown a desperate look to Aubrey, who would relent to whatever Beca wanted by that point as long as she answered the interviewers questions with a smile on her face.

Grinning at her affirmative response, Beca opened the door of the room excitedly and exclaimed to the shocked young woman on the other side, “We’re going for a drink!”

*

Aubrey and Vicky, the reporter from ‘Out’ Magazine, had agreed to conduct the interview at the hotel bar (Beca had wanted to venture out of the hotel that she felt as though she’d been stuck in for days), but she had to take the win where she could.

Beca was halfway through her first beer and, for the first time that day, chatting freely with the interviewer who was struggling to keep up as she spoke candidly about her new single.

“It’s surprising,” Vicky noted, “But totally understandable that you find the fame side of things so overwhelming. You always seem to be taking it all in your stride.”

Beca nodded with a smile, “Yeah I can put a good act on it sometimes.”

Vicky’s eyes immediately widened, she’d seen an in there, “Speaking of, we hear you’re branching out into acting now, as well?” Vicky asked, quirking an eyebrow in intrigue as the conversation turned to other things Beca was up to.

Beca rolled her lips, her fingers pulling at the label of her beer bottle, “Yeah,” she sounded unsure, “I’m still trying to figure out how that happened,” she laughed, sticking her tongue out at Aubrey who rolled her eyes at Beca from the separate table she was sat at behind Vicky.

“I was going to ask you if it was something you’d always been interested in?” Vicky asked, grinning as Beca shook her head vehemently.

“God no,” she enthused, “Like I said with the song, I’m not at all interested in being famous or getting my face out there like that. But hey,” she shrugged with an easy smile, “I was approached about an opportunity and so I took it.” Behind Vicky, Aubrey finally smiled, holding her thumb up. Beca shook her head at her friend, smiling softly.

“Well we can’t wait to see it,” Vicky enthused, scribbling notes, “And is it right that Chloe Beale is also in the movie?”

Beca tried hard not to flinch. Amy had tried to keep information about the movie very tight lipped, but there had already been gossip mags linking them both to the project.

Beca had no idea whether Chloe was planning on staying on board – she hadn’t heard from her since her emotional plea following Chloe’s meeting with Amy – but she didn’t have a good poker face, “Uhhh...I’m not sure if I’m allowed to say this, but yeah. Yeah she is,” Beca smiled, a genuine smile at the thought of the redhead, in spite of everything.

“We love her at ‘Out’,” Vicky beamed, pressing her notepad into the table and leaning forward towards Beca, “There have been rumours swirling round about her sexuality for a while – any insight you can give us there?” Her face was alight with intrigue, and Beca had to bite her tongue to fight her base instinct to rip Vicky’s head off for trying to potentially force someone out against their will.

She knew it would only look suspicious if she responded with any kind of defensiveness and so she tried to channel her inner Emily, all charm and inoffence.

Beca tried to laugh casually, avoiding Aubrey’s panicked eyes over Vicky’s shoulder, “My god, I wish. She’s super hot, but I’m usually pretty good at picking up that kind of thing. Sorry,” she grimaced with a smile.

“That is a shame,” Vicky laughed, and Beca joined her, even if her eyes were shooting daggers. 

“You’re right to love her, though,” Beca added with a smile, “She’s amazing – I feel very lucky to have been able to meet her and get the chance to work with her.”

Over Vicky's shoulder, Beca saw Aubrey stand, face hardened and she knew, gratefully, that this interview was over. 

*

Chloe arrived home, refreshed and somewhat relaxed, a few days later. She still had a million and one thoughts swirling around in her brain, but time to really process them and a number of long conversations with Stacie had made  _some_ progress, and Chloe still had a couple of days to confirm to Amy what she wanted to do.

A familiar, and ominous sense of deja vu overwhelmed her as the first thing she noticed when she stepped through her front door was a manilla padded envelope amongst her mail scattered over her welcome mat on the inside of the door.

Chloe immediately abandoned her bags at the door and scooped up her mail, taking it all into the kitchen and depositing it on her island so she could turn on her coffee maker.

She hadn’t done any interviews recently so there was a sense of panic about what was waiting for Chloe inside that envelope and she wasn’t sure that she was ready to be thrust back into all that quite so quickly and violently.

Equally, the fear of the unknown was suffocating, and so by the time the pot of coffee brewed and was ready for pouring, Chloe was tearing into the envelope with shaky fingers.

She was both terrified and awe struck to see Beca’s face on the cover. The young musician was sat on a guitar amp, just small enough for her feet to be able to touch the floor. She was leaning forward; her forearms pressed to her knees and an expensive looking set of headphones hung around her neck. Chloe had to stop herself from reaching out to touch the picture, utterly spellbound.

Once she snapped out of it she took in the rest of the front page – ‘Out’ magazine, and the bit of blurb by Beca’s name:

_Everyone’s favorite artist dishes on her new single, coping with her newfound superstardom and Chloe Beale!_

Chloe’s heart hammered painfully in her chest as she read her own name. Why the hell had Stacie sent this to her? What had Beca said?

The panic was almost blinding as Chloe opened the magazine, scanning the pages for Beca’s interview. Once she found it, for once she ignored the other images as she desperately skim read the article for any reference to herself.

When she did, her breath caught and she immediately reached for her phone.

After a very short ring, Beca picked up, unable to hide the shock in her voice, “Chloe? Are you ok?”

Chloe nodded slowly, an instant calm settling over her at hearing the other girl’s voice over the phone; which she then realised Beca wouldn’t be able to see, “Yeah,” she confirmed softly, “I’m ok – I just, I really need to see you.”

Chloe listened as Beca blew out a breath on the other end of the line – in frustration or relief- she couldn’t be sure – until she heard Beca’s next words.

“Tell me where and when.”


	12. Chapter 12

Where turned out to be an upmarket but causal restaurant in downtown LA, and when was, optimistically Chloe had thought, the very next day.

Beca had been quick to confirm the proposed plan, allaying any fears Chloe had about seeming overeager.

Chloe had anxiously arrived 10 minutes early and was cursing herself as she kept lighting up her phone every two minutes to see if Beca had text her to cancel. She hadn’t.

To distract herself from checking her phone anymore Chloe moved on to constantly sipping her water until she’d drained an entire glass. Why did she have to arrive early?!

“Did you run a marathon to get here?” an amused voice questioned from behind her as Chloe started to pour herself another drink from the tall jug of water in the middle of the table. The sound made Chloe panic; the jug slipping out of her hand back onto the table with a thud. “God, I’m sorry,” Beca rounded the table until she was facing Chloe, a worried look on her face, “I didn’t mean to scare you.”

Chloe smiled with her lips sucked in, “I don’t think there was enough water in this restaurant to keep me going if you were going to take much longer,” she joked with a short laugh, nodding to Beca to sit down.

Beca finally smiled, sinking down into the seat opposite Chloe, “Are you admitting that you’re nervous, Chloe Beale?” she asked, relaxing a little that, for the first time in a long time, she didn’t feel awkward around the red head.

“Absolutely terrified,” Chloe responded immediately with a tight lipped nod, before her eyes softened, “It’s really good to see you, Beca.”

“It is?” Beca’s response was genuinely questioning, eyes hopeful, and it equal parts warmed Chloe’s heart and made her feel like a total dick. She was not at all surprised that Beca was so confused about her changing attitudes.

She nodded, “Yeah. Beca, meet the real Chloe Beale. I think you two got acquainted for, like, two hours in London, but since then you’ve pretty much only seen the scared asshole version,” she admitted, her face apologetic.

Beca chuckled at that, “You’re not an asshole,” she reassured, “Have you ordered yet?”

Chloe narrowed her eyes at the sharp change of topic, but was grateful for the short reprieve from what she knew would be a heavy evening, “No, I – uh, wanted to wait for you.”

Beca hummed, “You’ve decided what you’re having though, right?” she picked up her own menu and quirked an eyebrow over the top of it, remembering Chloe’s penchant for menu browsing from their evening in London.

Chloe blushed, rolling her eyes, “Maybe,” she couldn’t help but smile as Beca grinned triumphantly.

“Good, me too,” she admitted, “Let’s order so we can talk.”

*

When their food arrived, it hit Chloe for the first time that evening that they had been chatting easily and casually with no awkwardness or glares. Her heart felt lighter than it had in weeks. It made her smile when the thought hit her.

“What are you smiling at?” Beca narrowed her eyes suspiciously as she picked up her knife and fork.

Chloe sucked in a long breath, “Just thinking that this is really nice,” she admitted honestly, fighting against all of the defences she had built up over the years to keep herself hidden, desperately trying to make sure Beca saw  _her._

Beca nodded, “It really is,” she confirmed, “It’s really good to see you...” she trailed off, trying to find the right word.

“...being nice?” Chloe offered with a guilty smile. She knew Beca was trying to be nice in this situation and wanted to give her the opportunity to express how she was really feeling. 

Beca barked out a laugh, “I was going to say relaxed,” she corrected with a charming smile.

“Right,” Chloe’s cheeks flushed in embarrassment, “Thanks.”

Beca nodded, taking a bite of her food and regarding Chloe before speaking again, “So, what made you get in touch?” she asked curiously, watching as Chloe stabbed distractedly at her salad.

Chloe lifted her eyes to meet Beca’s, “I read your article in ‘Out’,” Chloe confirmed, and Beca’s eyes widened in surprise.

“I didn’t know that was out yet,” Beca spoke cautiously, anxious about how Chloe would have reacted to the article, "I think it's safe to say I didn't enjoy that one."

"I'm sorry you were put in that position," Chloe apologised, "Thank you, though, for saying what you did."

“I didn’t know what to do for the best to protect you.”

Chloe quirked her head to the side, eyes narrowing, “You wanted to protect me?”

Beca couldn’t interpret the look in Chloe’s eyes, but it was definitely different to the hard, cold, indifferent look she’d been getting over the last couple of weeks, “You remember what I was like with that reporter when we first met, right?” she deadpanned, grinning, “Of course I wanted to protect you. Whatever you do and whenever you do it is your business alone – no one should be able to take that away from you,” Beca spoke in deliberately vague tones, anxious not to do anything to scare Chloe off.

Chloe avoided acknowledging the deep look Beca was throwing her, and smiled softly, “I do remember what you were like with that reporter. I thought it was badass,” she admitted with a wry grin, “Foolish, but badass.”

“That’s what they call me,” Beca quipped with a wink. A loaded silence fell over the pair and they exchanged awkward glances before both turning to their food for a moment.

“I can’t imagine what you must think of me,” Chloe eventually broke the silence, her face sullen as she regarded Beca.

The comment took Beca by surprise and her eyebrows scrunched together, “What do you mean?”

Chloe sighed, setting her cutlery down, “You’re so open, so unafraid to be who you are...and I’m – ” she broke off, wrapping her arms around herself.

“Hey,” Beca cajoled, reaching her hand across the table but hesitating as she reached Chloe, pressing her hand palm down onto the table in front of Chloe instead of touching her, “You don’t have to do this. I am not, and have not, ever judged you. No one can tell you how to live your life,” she reassured, sucking in a breath, "I was never mad at you because you're not waving a rainbow flag wherever you go. I was upset that it seemed like you could just completely dismiss me, or whatever was between us."

Chloe chewed nervously on her bottom lip, “I know, god I'm so sorry."

“Come on Chlo, stop giving yourself such a hard time,” Beca warned softly, “You know I did some research into you?” she informed Chloe, “A bit of stealthy googling. I was really impressed with the mental health charity you’ve set up,” she complimented, which only seemed to make Chloe sadder.

“Exactly,” Chloe implored, “I’m such a hypocrite! Advocating for people to not be afraid of who they are and to love themselves and I can’t even do that myself,” she cursed herself, cheeks reddening. 

Beca was hopeful, “You’re talking to me about this right now, so we’re making progress already,” she spoke with a smile, "You need to loosen up on yourself a bit, Beale."

“I don’t want to lose you, Beca,” Chloe spoke quietly, her voice full of fear and honesty. 

Beca’s responding smile was hopeful, but hesitant, “I'm not going anywhere," she reassured, "Chloe, I like you, but I’m more than happy for that to just be a friendship if that’s all you want.”

Chloe’s eyes started to water, “What if I’m not sure that’s all I want?”

Beca's heart skipped but she tried to play it cool, “That’s ok, too,” Beca confirmed with a nod, “As long as you don’t shut me out anymore.”

Chloe nodded, wiping the solitary tear trying to escape her eye, “Ok,” she gave Beca a shaky smile, “Thank you.”

Beca snorted, pulling her hand back and sinking back into her seat, “Don’t thank me, dork,” she teased, rolling her eyes – achieving the desired response, a watery giggle from Chloe, “You better call Amy right now and tell her you’re back on the movie,” she spoke with a raised eyebrow, voice mock stern.

“Can I finish my dinner first?" Chloe asked with a small smile, her watery eyes glistening. 

Beca narrowed her eyes with a smile, "I suppose..."


	13. Chapter 13

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> You deserved a long chapter...

Chloe had been driven to the restaurant by Stacie who had given the red head full permission to drink as much as she needed to in order to get through the evening and call Stacie when she needed picking up. Beca wasn’t having any of that.

“My car is parked out back; tell Stacie I’ll give you a ride home,” Beca instructed, smiling as Chloe rolled her eyes but dutifully pulled her phone from her bag to shoot Stacie a text once they'd both finished their meals.

Distracting her meant that Beca could pay the bill when the waiter came over. Chloe frowned as she set her phone back in her purse, “That was sneaky. I wanted to pay.”

“Next time,” Beca’s grin was so wide it exposed all of her teeth at the simple anticipation and potential that the comment gave them both. 

Beca led Chloe out of the back of the restaurant to the exclusive parking lot that was almost empty, the pair having talked the evening away.

Chloe expected Beca to walk towards one of the (three?!) Prius, and so was shocked, and impressed when Beca retrieved her keys from her pocket, clicked them and an imposing, black Defender flashed to life with a beep.

“Wow,” Chloe couldn’t hide her awe, and then confusion, “Can you even reach the pedals on this thing?!” she quipped, tapping her hand against the tail with a grin as Beca whipped round to face her, eyes glowering.

“You’ve got over being nice to me now, then?” Beca quirked an eyebrow as she nodded to Chloe to get in, rounding her own side to get into the driver seat.

Chloe climbed up (climbed!) into the truck. She was impressed. It was a beautiful car.

“I still live in a pokey apartment because I prioritised buying this car,” Beca explained as she set off, trying not to blush as Chloe laughed good naturedly, “I know I’m an idiot.”

“You’re cute,” Chloe looked as surprised that those words had come out of her mouth as Beca did hearing them.

Beca blushed, rolling her eyes, “Thanks. Now direct me back to your crib and stop teasing me.”

*

Beca wasn’t at all surprised to be pulling up to a single storey condo in the Hollywood hills. She brought the car to a stop and turned her engine off, feeling suddenly nervous, her eyes trained forward through her windscreen.

“Hey,” after a few moments of silence, Beca felt a hand on her shoulder and turned to meet Chloe’s eyes, “You ok?” Chloe asked, eyes wide in question.

Beca nodded slowly, “Yeah,” she confirmed, unconvincingly, “I mean, maybe. You’re not gonna go home now and change your mind back to hating me again next time I see you, are you?” she asked, words escaping her in a rush.

Beca slapped her hand across her mouth as the words spilled out, trying and failing to stop them, “I’m sorry, I didn’t mean – “

“Beca,” Chloe squeezed Beca’s shoulder that was still under her hand, “It’s ok. Walk me to my door?”

Beca nodded, following Chloe out of the car and following a step behind her to her front door, taking in her beautifully landscaped garden and the floor to ceiling window that looked into the kitchen diner.

“Gorgeous,” Beca breathed out as they came to stand in front of the door, facing each other.

Chloe blushed, “Umm, thank you,” she bit her bottom lip, regarding Beca intensely.

“Oh,” Beca’s eyes widened in panic, “I actually meant...” she broke off as she saw understanding flash through Chloe’s eyes and the redhead blushed even more furiously.

“The house,” Chloe’s head dropped and she huffed out a laugh, “Oh my god, what is wrong with me?” She sounded so distraught that Beca couldn’t help but burst into laughter, doubling over at the waist. Her right arm wrapped around her stomach and her left reached out to hold Chloe’s arm, who huffed in annoyance, “You’re never going to let me forget this, are you?” Chloe asked with a sigh.

“Oh my god,” Beca heaved in a breath, drawing herself into a standing position, “No, never.”

Chloe narrowed her eyes playfully, “Maybe I will hate you again tomorrow,” she mused.

Beca immediately schooled her features in response, stepping closer to Chloe who completely involuntarily took a step, her back hitting the side wall of her porch. Beca’s eyes were searching Chloe’s – she was so close, _why_ was she so close – and it wasn’t until one corner of Beca’s mouth curled up into a smirk that Chloe realised that she was a) holding her breath, and b) itching to reach out across the tiny distance between them and touch.

“Wanna re-think that?” Beca asked in a low voice, her eyes lazily drifting from Chloe’s down to her mouth, dropping lower to Chloe’s hands at her sides as she clocked one involuntarily twitching.

Chloe hummed thoughtfully, trying to hide the fact that her heart was hammering in her chest, something Beca could surely feel she was so close, “Maybe, yeah.”

“Mhm, I thought so,” Beca bit her bottom lip, entirely intentionally, watching as Chloe’s eyes immediately zoned in on the action, “Call me tomorrow so I know you haven’t freaked out on me?”

Chloe nodded immediately, “I will,” she dragged her eyes back up to Beca’s, “I promise.”

“Good,” Beca’s smile was a little more genuine this time as she rocked forward on her feet, pressing her lips just under Chloe’s cheek, just above her jaw, just for a heartbeat.

She let the motion of her feet draw her back again and her smile came even easier and wider, her eyes crinkling at the corners as she caught Chloe’s almost giddy smile.

“Good,” Chloe repeated dumbly, shell-shocked, her fingers absentmindedly coming to rest where Beca’s lips had just been.

Beca stepped backwards, her eyes not leaving Chloe’s, “Speak to you tomorrow, gorgeous,” she spoke with a wink before spinning on her heels and making her way back to her car.

“Was that one for me or the house this time?” Chloe spoke playfully after a few moments, finding her voice.

Beca’s laugh and lack of response stuck in Chloe’s head for the rest of the evening.

*

Filming started up again four days later on the following Monday. True to her word, Chloe had phoned Beca the day after her dinner...and the day after that...and, well, every day since.

Beca was starting to feel slightly reassured that Chloe wasn’t going to do a complete 180°, but they hadn’t seen each other in person since, so there was still an element of concern.

When she arrived in her trailer that Monday, Beca found a call sheet showing that the main scene for the day was an inexplicable scene that saw her character being accosted as she sings in the shower by Chloe’s character. Of course it was. No better way to test their newfound, very fragile, in-between friends and something more status.

She was due on set in 15 minutes and the robe and terrifying looking skin coloured underwear she was supposed to put on was glaring at her from across the room.

Whilst she glared at the offending garments hoping they would magically transform into something with more – coverage – her cell rang from her pocket. She was so grossly enthralled by the flesh bikini that she didn’t even check her phone as she pulled it from her pocket and to her ear.

“Hello?”

“Morning, Bec.”

Chloe’s voice shocked Beca out of her thoughts and her heart skipped, “Chloe, hi.”

“Are you ok?” Chloe sounded concerned, “You sound weird?”

Beca sighed, thoughts turning back to the outfit for the morning, “I’m looking at the horrendous ensemble we have to wear today,” she grimaced.

“Oh yeah!” Chloe sounded all too peppy, “I’ve got mine on now! You ready?”

Beca was suddenly assaulted with thoughts of Chloe in the offensive garment...and of course it became all the less offensive for it. How was she going to cope seeing Chloe dressed like that in real life.

“Bec? Are you still there?”

Shit. She had been entirely silent for like two minutes, “Sorry, yeah. I am not ready yet, no,” she admitted, “I’m not sure I can do it. It’s literally the worst thing I have ever seen.”

Chloe laughed down the line, “Beca Mitchell. Put it on and get your cute butt over to set...now.”

Despite her blush, Beca was able to maintain her sarcastic composure, “I can’t imagine ever looking cute again after this.”

“I’ll be the judge of that."

Despite the gay panic sweeping through her at the blatant flirting, Beca was infinitely grateful that Chloe had called her to reassure her that she wasn't going to get the cold shoulder today.

"Thank you for calling," Beca changed the mood from playful to deadly serious; something Chloe picked up on immediately. 

"Thank you for picking up," Chloe responded; Beca feeling the hint of a smile in her voice.

Beca wasn’t sure if she was relieved after Chloe’s call...or more anxious than ever.

*

“Right bitches!” Beca shuffled over to Amy in her robe, much less confident than Chloe who practically skipped over, “Closed set today. Essential personnel and crew only,” Amy advised, ushering Beca and Chloe over to the set filled with shower stalls, “You two ready to give it a first take?”

Beca and Chloe, who had not had a momwnt alone to be able to speak to each other since arriving on set - only sharing oaded glances and shy smiles - turned to one another. Beca shrugged noncommittally at the same time Chloe nodded enthusiastically.

“Excellent!” Amy ignored Beca, “Disrobe, ladies!”

Beca was usually a big fan of being told to take her clothes off by ladies, but that was in a very specific context that was decidedly _not_ here.

Beca watched as Chloe winked at her and walked away to her mark. It took a good few seconds for Beca’s brain to re-engage, and a nudge from Amy, but then she was walking to her own mark that would see her walk into the “shower stalls” and disrobe to shower.

“When you’re ready, Beca,” Amy’s voice called across the room.

Beca sucked in a breath, Chloe was about to see her in the disgusting bikini, and vice versa, and Beca was supposed to keep acting through that. This was going to be a shitshow if ever there was one.

Beca took the shower caddy prop and towel being handed to her by an assistant with a grateful nod; deciding to just suck it up and go for it.

She entered the makeshift shower stall singing quietly to herself.

_“But I can’t hear a word you say. Talking loud, not saying much.”_

Beca hung the shower caddy and towel inside the shower she entered, continuing to sing as she stepped beyond the entrance of the opaque walled stall and swallowed back the panic as she removed her robe and hung it outside the stall.

_“I’m criticised, but all your bullets ricochet. You shoot me down, but I get up.”_

The cameraman was suddenly behind her as she turned on the shower faucet and Beca tried desperately to keep the panic out of her voice as she continued to sing, knowing what was coming next.

There was a short break, where Beca got to stand practically naked as crew members swarmed around her (which was awesome) so the camera angle to change to where the shower head would have been, facing out of the stall.

 _“I’m bulletproof, nothing to lose, fire away, fire away,”_ Beca sang as the scene began again from the new angle, her heartrate spiking as she heard the tell-tale grate of the shower curtain rings being pulled along their pole.

 _“Ricochet, you take your aim,”_ Beca kept her eyes trained down, waiting for the moment.

“You can sing!!”

Right on cue, the excitable words reverberated around the echo-y walls of the set – very lifelike – and Beca sprung into action. She basically had to act exactly how she wanted to in these circumstances so it wasn’t at all hard.

She span on her feet, bringing the loofah in her hand up to her chest as she whipped the shower curtain across herself, screeching out a horrified, “Dude!”

Chloe ripped the shower curtain back open, ignoring Beca’s pained looked as she reached forward to turn the shower off, “How high does your belt go?”

“My what?” Beca sank back into the tiles behind her, eyes wide in horror, “Oh my god!”

Chloe pressed on, “You have to audition for the Bellas!”

“I can’t concentrate on anything you’re saying until you cover your junk,” Beca improvised, trying to look as though she was trying to avert her eyes.

The veer of script confused Chloe and so initially all she could do was bring it back. “Just consider it!” Chloe urged, “One time, we sang back up for Prince. His butt is so tiny that I could hold it in like, one hand!” With a flourish of said hand, Chloe, unintentionally, knocked a bottle Beca had picked up to cover herself out of the younger girl’s hand with an innocent “Oopsie!” grinning as Beca played up to it immediately, dropping to the floor with a groan before straightening herself up and pressing her front to the tiled back wall of the shower.

“Seriously,” Beca warned over her shoulder, “I am nude.”

Chloe grinned, time to get back on script, “You were singing Titanium, right?”

Beca, with her front still pressed to the tile and looking over her shoulder, looked surprised, “You know David Guetta?” Beca thought this was a stupid line in the movie. Everyone knows David Guetta.

“Have I been living under a rock? Yeah,” Chloe clearly agreed with Beca – that line being completely improvised, “That song is my _jam_ ,” Chloe continued, still entirely off script, “My _lady_ jam.”

Beca’s whole face felt as though it was catching fire as Chloe’s words registered in her brain, so all she could manage was a feeble, “That’s nice.”

“It is,” Chloe confirmed with a salacious grin and a wink, “That song _really_ builds.”

Beca had no idea what to do. Chloe was not meant to be flirting with her. This was not even slightly part of the script. Why wasn’t Amy calling cut?!

Beca’s knee jerk response was to hide behind her character wanting nothing to do with this, “Gross.”

“Can you sing it for me?” Chloe asked.

Ok, back on script, Beca could do that, “Dude no, get _out_!”

“Not for that reason!” Chloe added, “I’m not leaving here til you sing, so...” she trailed off with a resolute smile.

Beca pressed her temple to the tile and watched Chloe with a pained smile, who simply sighed patiently, looking entirely comfortable stood almost naked before Beca. That made one of them.

Considering enough time passed, Beca turned on the spot, crossing her arms over her chest. She tried to look annoyed. It was really hard with Chloe looking so open, patient and waiting. 

Together, she and Chloe sang through the chorus of Bulletproof. Beca knew that she was supposed to act all annoyed to begin with, but to get into it when she realises they sound good together.

She didn’t realise that she wouldn’t have to act that at all. They did sound great together and it did make Beca happy – so much so that she wasn’t sure she’d have been able to hide it even if she had been supposed to.

As the chorus came to its natural end, both girls stood simply staring at each other, both a little awe struck. Chloe positively beamed at Beca, who couldn’t help a wide smile in return. Beca also couldn’t help her eyes as they drifted down Chloe’s body. That wasn’t in the script, but at least she could confirm that she was right – Chloe was the only person who could make the flesh bikini look good.

“Oh yeah,” Chloe added, deciding to take advantage of Beca’s staring, “I’m pretty confident about,” she gestured to her body, “All this.”

Again, totally off script. Beca needed to get her footing back. She allowed herself another once over of Chloe’s body, “You should be,” she nodded with a grin.

“Ok cut!” Amy’s voice tore through the room and Beca suddenly remembered there were like 13 people around them watching them.

An assistant came running over with two robes and Beca pulled hers on quickly, watching in disbelief as Chloe had a long chat with said assistant before even taking hers.

“Well,” Amy sauntered over to the girls, “That was not at all how that was supposed to go,” Beca panicked, but Amy didn’t look mad, “It was BETTER!” She clapped both girls on the back, “I thought we were going to have to do a million takes of that but we’re going to leave it right there!”

Beca sighed, “Thank god," she enthused, rolling her eyes as she caught Chloe pouting in disappointment. 

“We'll need some time to look over the footage and confirm we don't need any other angles before we move on though, so take a seat for ten," Amy waved the girls away, "Great job, though, and good to have you back, Chlo."

Chloe glanced over to Beca, who was smiling softly, "Good to be back, boss."


	14. Chapter 14

Filming went, unsurprisingly, a lot more smoothly after that. No more diva fits from Chloe. 

The following week Chloe was in her trailer getting ready to go out for lunch when she heard a knock at the door.

“Almost ready, give me two secs,” Chloe spoke as she pulled the door open, stopping when she was met with Aubrey on the other side of the door rather than who she had been expecting, “Aubrey, hey.”

Aubrey narrowed her eyes with a small smile, stood on the steps leading up to the door of Chloe’s trailer, “Expecting someone else?”

Chloe smiled ruefully, stepping back from the door and ushering Aubrey in as she continued flitting around the trailer for her jacket, bag and keys, “Beca and I are gonna grab some lunch – you wanna come?” Chloe knew Aubrey was fishing for something, so she was going to make her work for it.

“No, but thank you,” Aubrey politely declined, stepping into the trailer and leaning back against the counter of her kitchenette area, “I just wanted to speak to you quickly before you go, if you don’t mind?”

Chloe turned to Aubrey, quirking an eyebrow and sinking into a seat across from the blonde, “I’m all ears,” she smiled as confidently as she could, her stomach buzzing with nerves. Aubrey had been cagey around her all along, particularly since she and Beca had started getting closer. Chloe knew it was the best friend act and so was fairly relaxed about it.

“You and Beca seem to be getting on a lot better?” Aubrey began, tilting her head slightly, as if that would give her a better read on Chloe.

The red head nodded, “Yeah we are,” she confirmed, “Look Aubrey, if you’re here to give me the best friend – ”

Aubrey cut Chloe off with a raise of her hand, “Beca has not told me a single thing about what’s going on between you two so I don’t want you involuntarily doing that if that’s something you don’t want me to know,” she interrupted with a gentle smile in Chloe's direction, “I just need you to know,” Aubrey paused, shaking her head, “Beca isn’t the hotshot badass she pretends that she is,” she sounded annoyed at her best friend, “She has been let down a lot in her life. She needs someone to not let her down anymore,” Aubrey raised her eyebrows and nodded to Chloe, making her point clear.

Chloe rolled her lips, her eyes trained on the ground, “You’re a really good friend,” Chloe eventually spoke as she lifted her head to meet Aubrey’s eyes, “Beca’s really important to me.”

“Good,” Aubrey’s response was instant, followed by a slightly awkward pause that was broken by a small figure bounding through the door of the trailer.

“Beale, I’ve been waiting for your cute butt for – Aubrey, what?!” Beca froze just inside the door of Chloe’s trailer, eyes flitting from one girl to the other, the atmosphere strange, “What’s going on here?” her voice was accusatory and directed at Aubrey.

Chloe stood quickly, flashing Beca a brilliant smile, “Aubrey’s grilling me about my career,” she responded easily, flashing Aubrey a wink as she blushed and rolled her eyes.

Beca snorted, relaxing immediately, “God Aubrey, you’re so uncool,” she shook her head at her best friend, “You wanna come for lunch? As long as you stop creeping Chloe out, of course?”

Aubrey bit her bottom lip, fighting the urge to snap at her best friend, “I’ll pass, thanks. Enjoy your lunch, ladies.”

Chloe watched Beca watch Aubrey leave the trailer. She had just survived her first “best friend” talk, and she and Beca weren’t even together.

Speaking of, Beca turned back from facing the door to meet Chloe’s eyes, the older girl stood a few feet in front of her.

Beca’s shit eating grin softened into something more genuine that churned up Chloe’s insides, “Hey you,” Beca greeted, stepping closer to Chloe, “It’s been weird not seeing you this morning.” Both girls had been filming individually for the morning and were due to film a scene together in the afternoon.

“Miss me, Mitchell?” Chloe teased in response. She, just like almost every other time she was around Beca at the moment, was itching to reach out and touch her, to have some sort of physical connection to her.

However, just like all those other times, she stopped herself. She wanted to prove to Beca that she could be what she needed her to be.

Beca clearly didn’t have the same filter, taking an imperceptible step forward so she was right in Chloe’s space; the fingers of her left hand hung loose at the outside of her thigh reaching out to grasp at the tips of the fingers of Chloe’s right hand at her side, “I did miss you,” Beca admitted, grinning as Chloe’s fingers eagerly grasped at hers, “So there,” she poked her tongue out teasingly, causing Chloe to absolutely swoon.

Chloe’s swoon was followed by an eager little noise as she pitched forward on her toes, her hand in Beca’s tugging her close until their noses brushed. That motion caused Beca to gasp and pull away, plastering a wide smile on her face.

“Shall we go and get lunch?” Beca tried to sound breezy as her head buzzed with the thought that she might have just been seconds away from kissing Chloe.

Chloe noticed she wasn’t, but didn’t push it. “Sure.”

*

A few days later a scene was being filmed in the fictional singing group’s practice space where Chloe’s character was teaching the new bunch of recruits, including Beca.

Chloe knew that Beca was in a weird mood. She’d been excitable and bouncy since arriving on set that morning; which was new and exciting for Chloe in itself.

Beca’s mood had been lifting steadily since that first dinner together, but this was the first day Chloe had seen her...hyper.

Beca sat next to one of the other actors in the group; front and centre in front of Chloe who was stood facing them in front of a whiteboard. She was waiting for Amy to call action for the scene to start, but out of the corner of her eye caught Beca watching her closely, a goofy smile on her face.

Chloe grinned, completely missing Amy starting rolling and completely ruining the first take as Beca mouthed something to her that she couldn't make out - but narrowed her eyes in an attempt to anyway.

“Ok cut,” Amy called, which was Chloe’s first indication that anything was even happening.

Chloe’s eyes flew to Amy’s, “Wait, what?”

“Get your head in the game, Beale!” Beca teased, wiggling her eyebrows.

Chloe laughed, directing her attention to Beca with an eye roll, “Mitchell! I don’t need you here!”

God, this was going to be in the outtakes...

*

That night, Beca and Chloe were due to get dinner, but after a day of gruelling filming (after Beca had been told off by Amy for screwing around), Beca instead offered for Chloe to come to her apartment, which was much closer than Chloe’s condo, and just order in pizza.

Later that evening, an almost empty pizza box littered Beca’s coffee table. Beca sat on one end on her corner couch, a pair of socked feet in her lap.

Chloe had situated herself sideways on the other end, her legs stretched across the sofa, her back propped up against the arm of the couch.

Beca wasn’t sure what was on TV – some crappy reality show. She was more focused on the feet in her lap, under her hands that had settled on Chloe’s shins.

She kept her eyes focused on the TV ahead of her, especially because she kept feeling Chloe’s eyes on her.

“Can I ask you something personal?” Chloe eventually broke the comfortable silence.

Beca’s hands, that had been caressing distractedly, stopped, simply gripping firmly. Beca finally turned her head to regard Chloe, “Loaded question. Ask it and I’ll decide whether I want to answer,” Beca bit her tongue through her teeth.

“What was it like when you came out?”

Beca blew out a slow breath as the question hit her, and she subconsciously smoothed her hands down Chloe’s shins to the curve of her socked feet, “Well,” she began, watching Chloe closely, “Some of it was totally fine, some of it was fucking awful, and all of it was terrifying.”

Chloe hummed in acknowledgement, “Tell me about the good bit first.”

Beca’s thumbs started caressing the top of Chloe’s feet, the fingertips of her other fingers gently scratching her soles, “All of the friends I told were super cool about, most said they already knew,” she explained, smiling wryly down at Chloe’s feet, “A couple of my girl friends _definitely_ knew,” Chloe let out a small laugh at that.

“I told Aubrey first. She scoffed and told me to stop being so attention seeking, that it wasn’t a big deal and I was still the same old annoying Beca to her,” Beca laughed good naturedly, “It was such a perfect response and exactly what I needed.”

Chloe smiled at that before her expression sombred, “What was the bad part?” Chloe sort of knew the answer to this – having read that first interview of her. She wanted to hear it from Beca herself, though.

Beca turned to Chloe, her hair falling in her face, “The bad part was that I always knew that my parents were not going to take the news well,” she told Chloe, biting her bottom lip, “What I didn’t know, though, was quite _how_ badly they were going to take it.”

Chloe’s eyes widened in horror, “How badly, Bec?” she questioned softly.

“Badly enough that I moved in with Aubrey and her parents that day until the two of us could afford our own place,” Beca responded, her eyes falling to Chloe’s feet in her lap again, “They haven’t spoken to me since. I’ve tried a couple times, but...” she trailed off with a sigh, lifting her shoulders.

“Beca,” Chloe sat upright, shifting her body forward until she was practically in Beca’s lap, her feet now draped over the younger girl’s legs, “I’m so sorry.”

Beca met Chloe’s eyes, now much closer, “That’s why I will _never_ put you under any pressure or give you any shit about coming out,” she explained, eyes glistening with unshed tears, “I just can’t be a cause of shame or embarrassment for anyone anymore,” she spoke quietly, willing her voice not to break.

Chloe’s heart broke and she wrapped her arms around Beca’s neck, pulling Beca’s face into her neck, “I think it’s about time, Bec.”


	15. Chapter 15

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Guys I'm still alive!
> 
> So so sorry for the delay. 
> 
> Life, amIright?!
> 
> Anyway, where were we???

Chloe had not done anything to put her coming out plan into motion since the heart to heart on Beca’s couch the week before; and true to her word, Beca had not pressed the issue or attempted to make her feel guilty in any way. They were coming to the end of the filming portion of the process and any time they weren’t in front of the camera there were meetings being held to co-ordinate the press tour for the film. Chloe’s head was spinning and she wasn’t sure she could handle much more on top of her mounting schedule.

One thing she couldn’t avoid, though, was her rapidly mounting feelings for Beca. That was not helped by the fact that the two of them were so close now that they were essentially a couple, but without any of the intimacy.

Chloe knew that Beca wasn’t willing to give herself to Chloe unless she was sure and comfortable with who she was and Chloe was determined to be that person so that she could be with Beca, but it was a lot to re-programme her brain into after years of denial and self-loathing over the issue.

Chloe knew she was lucky to have Beca be so patient with her, and so was determined not to keep her waiting any longer than she needed.

 **Beca** – 08.47

_Dude, I’ve been waiting out here for like 10 mins._

Oops.

Chloe grinned into her phone and shot her a text that she would be right out.

Beca had driven Chloe home after filming last night and had offered to pick her up the next morning. She hadn’t even come in to her house the evening before. The two of them had sat talking in Beca’s car, parked on Chloe’s drive, for over an hour before either of them had even realised and Beca had left with a promise that she would be there to pick Chloe up in the morning. It was effortlessly domestic and would have terrified Chloe if she hadn't been enjoying it so much. 

The drive to the studio was once again filled with animated conversation between the pair, and when they arrived on set they were both whisked away to their respective trailers to prepare for the day’s shooting with a promise to meet each other for lunch, because god forbid they spend any longer than a few hours apart.

“Chloe, we need to talk,” The girl in question narrowed her eyes through her trailers mirror to the reflection of Stacie who had barrelled in, eyebrows furrowed in concern.

Chloe wanted to turn around to regard her best friend, but figured that Jade - the hairdresser who currently had a curling tong held against her head - would not really appreciate that.

“What’s going on?” Chloe asked, trying to remain as still as possible.

Stacie approached the dressing station Chloe was sat at and placed a tabloid magazine on the table in front of her.

Chloe picked it up and drew it to her face, eyes widening in horror as she regarded the unmistakeable grinning face of _her_ Beca, hand clasped with another woman who’s other hand was also wrapped around Beca’s arm, drawing the two women closer together.

The headline read, “ _Beca Mitchell cosies up with ex – Playboy Model Ava Christensen. Are they back on?_ ”

Chloe was silent for a long moment, her heart sinking into her stomach. Why had she expected that Beca would wait for her, after all that she had put Beca through. This was her big pink neon sign that she had been officially friendzoned.

“You ok?” Stacie asked, biting her bottom lip, “I just wanted to make sure you knew.”

Chloe fought back the urge to let her true devastation show and instead plastered the fakest smile on her face she could muster, “Yeah, of course,” she tried to sound breezy, “Beca and I are friends. Who she dates is her business.”

Stacie’s eyes narrowed, and Chloe swore she could even see a look of amused disbelief on Jade’s face, which she tried desperately to ignore, “We’ll talk about this later,” Stacie promised sternly.

“Nothing to talk about!”

*

After a morning filming separately and having her whatsapp messages ignored, Beca found Chloe sat alone at Craft services picking idly at some mac’n’cheese.

“Hey stranger,” she greeted, slipping into the seat opposite Chloe with a bemused smile, “What’s up with you today?”

Chloe looked up from her food, startled to find Beca there, “Oh, hey,” her smile didn’t quite reach her eyes, “I’m fine, why do you ask?”

“Uhh, because you’re being weird all of a sudden?” Beca deadpanned, quirking an eyebrow, “I thought we were going to be honest with each other from now on?” She went straight for the jugular. No beating around the bush. That was one of the things Chloe was coming to lo - oh, no, way too dangerous to be thinking like that. 

Chloe’s heart stuttered at that. Beca was right and she wasn’t going to let her down like that again, “You’re right. Not now, though. Can we maybe grab dinner tonight or something?”

Beca grimaced, “I can’t tonight, I have plans.”

“Of course,” Chloe bit back a scoff, imagining what those plans might be, “Listen, I need to get going, have a meeting with Stace before we get started again. Just message me and let me know when you’re free?”

Beca watched Chloe leap up from the table and start to walk away with a furrow in her brow, “Promise you’ll actually reply to any of my messages?!” she shouted to Chloe’s retreating back.

Chloe didn't respond. She didn't want to lie.

*

“For the love of God, Beca, what the _hell_ is wrong with you?!”

Beca jumped, alarming the costume designer she was deep in conversation with; “Jesus Christ, Aubrey – what have I told you about greeting me like that?!”

Aubrey came to a stop in front of Beca, arms crossed over her chest, “That I can do it if you’re being a complete jackass.”

“Right,” Beca confirmed with a nod, “That doesn’t apply right now though - I haven’t been a jackass in at least a week!” she defended herself.

Aubrey rolled her eyes, “The gossip rags with pictures of you cosying up to Ava at the weekend say otherwise,” she scalded, “Why didn’t you tell me you were seeing her again?”

Beca’s confused face dissolved into a smile, “That’s what you’re mad at me for?! I’m not back with her, we just met for dinner. Though I’m not surprised the tabloids are making more out of it,” she exclaimed, exasperated, “I mean, Ava did get a little handsy but I told her we were completely over.”

“Right,” Aubrey nodded slowly, “Well, you might want to tell Chloe that.”

Beca’s eyes widened as the pieces clicked in her head, “Of course Chloe knows,” she shook her head in frustration, “Right, how long til we need to be on set?”

“10 minutes,” Aubrey glanced down at her watch.

Beca was already shrugging into her jacket, “And Chloe’s in her trailer?”

“As far as I know.”

“Great,” Beca breathed out, “Go and stall on set please.”

*

“You’re an idiot,” As far as introductions go, Beca was sure she could have done better.

Chloe’s head whipped up from where she had been hunched over her bag on the sofa in her trailer as Beca barged in and immediately offended her, “Excuse me?” she questioned, straightening defensively.

“I said,” Beca continued, stepping closer to Chloe, her tone even, “You’re an idiot. If you think I can be how I am with you and do god knows what behind your back,” she came to a stop a foot away from Chloe, regarding her with a raised, challenging eyebrow.

Chloe faltered, “I - ,” she sighed, eyes glistening, “I wouldn’t blame you.”

Beca softened instantly, “Chlo,” she stepped forward, closing the gap between them and taking Chloe’s left hand in her right, “I would do a lot to show you that you’re what I want, but that’s not the situation we’re in," she reminded Chloe, "It’s you who has to make the choice,” she instructed with a sad smile, “And ok, I’m not going to wait forever – but I’m not jumping on the first other girl who gives me a second look either.”

“I’m scared,” Chloe admitted, voice barely above a whisper as she gripped Beca’s fingers in her own, "And I'm so afraid of losing you."

Beca nodded, “I know you are, but I’m here, ok? Stop expecting me to run. Whatever happens, I’ll be here. You have to learn to trust that."

Chloe nodded, “I’m sorry,” she spoke softly, her voice cracking as she finally allowed the tears to fall.

Beca lifted her left hand and placed it on Chloe’s cheek, using her thumb to brush away the softly falling tears, “I wish there was more I could do,” she admitted, biting her lip, “I also really wish I could kiss you right now.”

Chloe wasn’t expecting that – a short gasp escaping her lips. Maybe, though, this was the right time. Pulling Beca’s hand that was in her own, the younger girl pitched forwards, Chloe’s eyes slipping shut as she too leant forwards, their lips about to –

“Two minutes to call time!” a voice and a sharp rapping at the door of Chloe’s trailer tore the pair away from each other before their lips could meet.

Beca huffed out a laugh, extricating herself from Chloe and running a nervoue hand through her hair, “Guess we better get going then?”

“Right,” Chloe confirmed, “To be continued?”

“Absolutely.”


	16. Chapter 16

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Chloe finally makes some progress!

**Beca** – 22:34

_Sorry I didn’t get a chance to catch up with you this evening. You free for dinner tomorrow night?_

Chloe had been home for an hour or so after a gruelling afternoon. Aubrey had whisked Beca away for a label meeting that the young musician had completely forgotten about as soon as they were done, Beca grumbling that it was ruining her evening plans.

Beca had apologised profusely to Chloe, organising a car to take her home despite Chloe’s protests.

 **Chloe** – 22:37

_Don’t be silly, it’s cool. How was your meeting – and whatever you had going on after? I have other plans tomorrow, unfortunately. Maybe the next day?x_

Chloe knew that message would encourage an immediate response, and she wasn’t disappointed.

 **Beca** – 22:39

_Meeting was boring. Dinner with my bandmates was late as a result but good. Just got home. Plans, eh? Don’t tell me you have a fake Playboy model girlfriend, too?_

Chloe grinned into her phone from her position curled up on her sofa with a glass of wine.

 **Chloe** – 22:41

_Ha! Well, I do have dinner plans with a particularly special lady...xx_

She loved winding Beca up.

 **Beca** – 22:44

_You’re a heartbreaker, Beale. Tell me who she is, do I need to fight her?!_

Chloe couldn’t help but laugh at that one, rolling her eyes.

 **Chloe** – 22:47

_Well it’s my mom, so I can’t imagine that will get you guys off on a good foot...xx_

When the three little dots failed to appear immediately signifying Beca’s response, Chloe was worried she’d gone too far. Until her phone lit up with Beca calling her.

“Hello?” Chloe greeted with a grin around her wine glass.

“Dude!” Beca exclaimed indignantly, “You need to delete those messages – I can’t believe I offered to fight your mom!”

Chloe laughed, Beca sounded genuinely panicked, “I’m sure she’s going to be really excited to meet you when she hears about this.”

“Chloe!” Beca admonished, “You know I’ll be the absolute modicum of respect when I meet her, but please delete those messages and let us never speak of this again.”

Chloe’s stomach flipped, “You seem fairly sure you’re going to meet my mom?”

“Shit,” Beca huffed out a laugh, “I’ve had a few beers. If I ever get the pleasure of meeting Mrs Beale, I promise I won’t fight her.”

Chloe was surprised to find this conversation didn’t terrify her as much as it probably should have, “I should think not, for your sake. My mom works out, she could absolutely take you,” she quipped, smiling softly as Beca’s open laugh drifted down the line to her ears.

“It doesn’t surprise me at all that another of the Beale women is a complete knockout,” Beca responded, and Chloe could only imagine how proud of herself she was for that one.

Chloe hummed, “Pleased with yourself for that, aren’t you?”

“Tell me it didn’t charm you a little bit?” Beca countered immediately.

“Just a little bit.”

Beca made a pleased noise down the phone, “Ok, I’ll take that as a win. I’m gonna go now before I make any more of a fool of myself. See you tomorrow?”

“That you will. Goodnight, Becs.”

“Sweet dreams, Chlo.”

*

“Mom! I’m so sorry I’m late!” Chloe came skidding to a halt at the quiet corner table of the Italian restaurant they frequently met at whenever Chloe’s mom was in town for work.

Anne Beale rose from her seat to pull her daughter into a hug, “You know you can stop apologising now – I’m used to you being at  _least_ 20 minutes late - this is actually early for yoi,” she laughed as Chloe groaned remorsefully into her shoulder, “Hi baby,” she pressed a kiss to the younger Beale’s cheek before releasing her so she could sit down.

“Have you ordered?” Chloe asked, opening her menu.

Anne shook her head, “No, but the cute waiter has been over a few times – I think I might be in with a shot,” she joked, wiggling her eyebrows.

“MOM!” Chloe blanched, swatting at her grinning mom with her menu, “Keep it in your pants or I’m telling dad!”

Anne rolled her eyes with a playful smile, “Spoilsport," she poked her tongue out at Chloe, who rolled her eyes, "How's the movie?"

"Great," Chloe beamed, her eyes bright and body fizzing, "Principal filming's almost over - it's been exhausting but  _the_ most fun I've had in years."

Anne smiled softly, "Well, I'm glad to see you happier than you were on your last movie with that creepy guy...?"

"Tom?" Chloe shuddered, "He still texts me every so often."

"He creeped me out," Anne groaned, shifting the subject with her usual skill, "Is anyone actually interesting texting you?"

Chloe snorted into the glass of water that had been waiting for her at her seat, "Wow, mom - couldn't even wait five minutes before asking me about my love life?" She tried to sound lighthearted, but inside her stomach was churning. Her response must have been suspicious, because Chloe noticed Anne narrowing her eyes and she swallowed hard. 

"There  _is_ someone!" Anne beamed, pressing her hands to the table so she could lean forward, closer to Chloe, "Tell me everything. An actor on your new film?"

Chloe felt her face flush and knew she wasn't going to get away without telling her mom _something_. She set her glass down, watching the tremor in the surface of the water from where her hands were shaking. 

Looking up from the table, Chloe met her mother's eager gaze and sucked in a long breath, "There is someone - on the film," she breathed out, heart racing so fast she could feel herself getting light headed. She couldn't believe this was actually happening...or whether it even was. 

"Well that's good news, right?" Anne studied her daughter carefully, not missing the obvious panic in her eyes, "Talk to me, sweetie. Tell me about him."

This was it, Chloe thought. This was her moment...and she was actually going to take it. She felt tears well in her eyes and felt her mother's hand take her own across the table, squeezing supportively.

" _Her_ , mom," she whispered, willing her voice not to crack, "And, I would  _really_ like to tell you about her, if that's ok?"

Anne's eyes immediately widened and her thumb, that had been caressing over the back of Chloe's hand, stopped moving.

Chloe didn't realise it, but she had been holding her breath since she spoke, her eyes trained on their joined hands, terrified to meet her mum's eyes. Once it started to burn her lungs, she blew the breath out, allowing a solitary tear to fall down her cheek as the seconds ticked on and her hopes for a positive response rapidly depleated. 

"Please say something, mom," Chloe begged quietly, her eyes rising to meet her mom's. 

The look of utter heartbreak in Chloe's eyes shocked Anne out of her stupor and she shook her head, clearing the fog and shock.

Her hand squeezed Chloe's and she gave her a shaky smile, "She makes you happy?" she asked, searching Chloe's eyes for an honest answer. 

Chloe nodded, biting her bottom lip to stop herself from bursting into tears, "She does, mom," she confirmed quietly, "We aren't - I mean, we're just friends at the moment, but I think," she paused, swallowing hard, "No, I  _know_ we both want to be more."

Anne nodded slowly, her thumb stroking the back of Chloe's hand again encouragingly, "What's stopping you?"

Chloe couldn't hold back the tears anymore and they fell down her cheeks freely, "I'm afraid, mom."

Anne moved her seat so she was next to Chloe rather than opposite her, pulling her daughter's head into her chest, "My baby," Anne reassured, pressing her lips to the top of Chloe's head, "Everything's ok, beautiful girl."

Chloe's arms wrapped around her mom's waist, "You don't hate me?" she mumbled into her mom's shoulder. 

Chloe felt her mom's hands on her shoulders, pressing her back so she could meet Anne's eyes, "Hate you?" Anne's own eyes filled with tears, "Chloe, you're my daughter," her eyes shone with love, "This is a bit of a shock, sure, but I love you more than anything. Nothing will change that." 

Chloe's shoulders crumpled in relief under her mom's hands, "Thank you," she whispered, her bottom lip still trembling, "You have no idea how much I needed to hear that."

Anne smiled softly, her hands lifting to Chloe's cheeks to softly wipe her tears away with her thumbs, "So, tell me about her?" 

Chloe nodded, pursing her lips, "It's Beca Mitchell."

Anne's eyes widened again and her right hand left Chloe's shoulder to slap across her mouth, "Beca Mitchell the singer?!" At Chloe's nod, Anne burst out laughing, "Oh my god, your brother is going to be SO jealous!"

Anne's laughter was infectious and Chloe found herself grinning, the knot in her stomach that had been there for  _years_ finally starting to loosen. 

 

 


End file.
